By Lisa Mensink, Beijing Bound LifeSport Athlete
It started when I was 10. My parents put me into a swim club as a last ditch effort to keep me active. Previous attempts to turn me into a dancer or gymnast had failed. There was nothing worse for a clumsy, introverted 9-year old than having to wear a blue leotard while struggling through an uneven bar routine! Off to the pool it was…
I’d always loved the water. I also loved competing…as long as it was against the clock and not at the hands of subjective judges! Swimming soon consumed my life and my Olympic Dream was born! Like most young swimmers, there were countless early morning practices and long trips to meets...all anchored by the youthful optimism of making it to the Olympics. However, despite ten years of commitment and sacrifice, the closest I came to the Olympic Dream was 13th in the 200m individual medley at the Canadian Olympic Trials in 1996. At the age of 20, like 99.9% of athletes, I realized that my Olympic Dream was over. It was time to grow up, get a job, and move on. My experience of the Olympics would be from the couch, watching them on CBC. I swam for three more years at the University of Calgary before starting my career as a geologist.
Fast forward to 2003. As a 26 year old looking for something to do I thought I’d try something called a triathlon. I knew I could swim, and I’d been running weekly with my standard poodle, but I hadn’t ridden a bike since my pink CCM with the banana seat when I was 8. I wish I could say I dominated the field in my first race because I was a triathlon prodigy…but it wasn’t so! The swim was in a pool and I borrowed my sister’s mountain bike. I breezed through the swim, had a slow T1 (something about stopping to change into shorts, socks, and T-shirt), and then encountered unexpected challenges when the shoelace from my runners got wound around the crank of my bike. With my foot firmly hog-tied to the peddle, I tipped over sideways to untangle it. Back on track, I finished a solid 3rd place at the UCTC Sprint Triathlon!!! No Olympic Dream yet, but I bought a bike and entered my first Olympic distance race later that year. My training consisted of swimming with a Masters group, going for the occasional ride, and running with my poodle…who needed a coach!?!
In June 2004 I raced as an Age Grouper at the Edmonton World Cup, which was served as the last qualifying race for the Athens Olympic team. We stuck around to watch Sam McGlone jubilantly run her way into the last Canadian spot! I remember thinking, “How good must that feel…qualifying for the Olympics using your last possible opportunity.” As a 27 year old geologist, cheering on younger world-class athletes from the stands, I had no idea I was about to begin a journey that would not only rekindle my Olympic Dream, but also send me to Beijing four years later!
In mid-2004 I joined a local triathlon club and trained with other athletes in a more structured program. I quickly improved, conquered the local Age Group world and moved on to the bigger races; I started to think I had some talent! Confidently heading into my first ever ITU points race in Puerto Rico in 2005, I quickly got schooled in elite triathlon racing 101. I got roughed up in the water, lost my gels on the bike and rode it solo, and then bonked huge during the hot run. I was 4th last…a full 13:30 behind the winner! There were definitely some tears on the finish line and that was almost it for me and triathlon. I tried two more ITU point races in 2005 and finished 6th and 12th. However there was still no Olympic Dream on the radar.
In early 2006, I realized I needed a change. While visiting Victoria in February, I set up a meeting with Paul and Lance at Lifesport on an impulsive whim. An hour later I’d committed to a years worth of coaching! However, under Paul’s guidance everything changed. With some hard and smart training, race advice, and some more confidence I managed to finish 4th at Canadian nationals, 17th at my first World Cup in Edmonton and was named to the Canadian National Development team! As a 29 year old, full-time geologist/part-time triathlete, the Olympic Dream was starting to get rekindled. Was I getting a second chance??
In January 2007, it was decision time. I was 30 years old, working full-time, and only had 18 months until the Beijing Olympics. Unless I took up curling or show jumping horses, my Olympic chances were ticking away with my age. I needed to make big changes. With Coach Paul’s encouragement and my fiancée’s support, I made up my mind. I quit my job to be a triathlete full-time and traveled to Australia to train for February and March. I also made another hard decision to leave Triathlon Canada and race for the Netherlands (I have dual citizenship). It was a tough decision but as an older and unproven athlete I thought I’d receive more support from their national program. Canada was full of younger and more experienced athletes. It has worked out fantastically! They’ve been incredibly supportive and positive, and its given me a wonderful opportunity to learn Dutch and race in Europe. Now a full-time “National Team” athlete, I was ready to go. However, 2007 was a year of ups and downs as I adjusted to training full-time, racing against seasoned elite athletes (even most 20 year olds are more experienced) and struggled through a misdiagnosed injury (stress fracture) that forced me to quit the 2007 World Championships and the 2007 Beijing World Cup. It also affected my Olympic Dream, as I needed two top-10’s at World Cups to qualify with the Dutch NOC. However, Coach Paul kept me positive and convinced me I was capable of more. Going into 2008, with only 8 months until Beijing, my Olympic Dream was burning hotter (and closer) than ever!
The season started early, Coach Paul and I were on a mission! It began with a solid 3½ month block of training in Noosa, Australia. I was solo for a month, and then joined by my fiancée when he also quit his job to be my support crew. Then the Lifesport group came out for a training camp through most of March! I got fast in the water swimming alongside the likes of Greg and Laura Bennett, Andrew Johns, Hiro and Maki, and Helen Tucker, and made improvements to my run (thanks to Bree and the others for pushing me!). I started to believe that maybe I was one now one of those “elite athletes” who I’d watched at the 2004 Edmonton World Cup, a level which seemed so unattainable only 4 years earlier. But to get to Beijing, I still needed two top-10s at World Cups. Entering 2008, my best World Cup finish had been 16th.
With no time to waste, I kicked off the Lisa 2008 World Tour and raced five World Cups in five countries in 6 weeks! As a 31 year old with a second chance at the Olympic Dream you’ve got to give it all you’ve got! By the end of April, I’d placed 19th, 11th, 12th and 9th at World Cups and was ranked 14th on the ITU World Cup rankings. I was so close to Beijing I could taste it!! All I needed was one more top-10! I thought “No sweat, I’ll race the Richards Bay World Cup in South Africa and get my top-10 there…Olympics here I come”. Sport can be so cruel... During my warm up I felt good and ready to race. Then my stomach started to feel off. I ignored it and took my spot for the start. After the first lap of the swim, I was in 3rd place! Nice…everything going according to plan! Then it went south…and fast!! I puked during the swim, barely held it together on the bike, and finally had to stop on the run. No top-10. Devastation. I was alone, 16,000 km from home, and thought I’d just lost my second chance at the Olympic Dream.
I still had three more chances to qualify. I went back to Victoria in mid-May and Coach Paul helped me regain my confidence and focus. To keep things interesting and to test everybody’s nerves, I had disappointing races at the World Championships and the Des Moines World Cup (both races where I should have qualified but learned some new lessons). With one last chance at the Hamburg World Cup on July 5, I crossed the line tied for 9th!! Olympic Dream achieved!! And I can honestly tell you…it feels awesome to qualify for the Olympics using your last opportunity!!
Thank you so much Paul, LifeSport, all my training partners, sponsors, the Netherlands Triathlon Federation, Adrie, Josh, friends, family, and of course Richard!
I am on my way to Korea this weekend to prepare and then to Beijing where I’ll be marching into the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium on August 8th for Open Ceremonies! And, I won’t be a tourist in the Olympic Triathlon – I am going to race hard and be part of the action!
Thanks again,
- Lisa
