Foster proves she belongs in the big league

Taylor Foster took another significant step forward in her rising career as a triathlete when she finished fifth in the women’s individual triathlon event at the Youth Olympics here on Friday.

Having recently turned 16, Foster has joined the world of competitive events and the strong result at the Youth Olympic Games has fuelled the young triathlete to push on to bigger competitions and chase podiums around the world.

“I am very pleased with my performance. I recently recovered from an eight-week gluteal injury which halted my training ahead of these games and it caused some complications in the cycling portion of the race which is where I may have lost some time. Despite that, I am proud of my efforts in the hot conditions and I am feeling really good for the future.”

The Durbanite from Hillcrest has had a love for triathlons for as long as she can remember, with her parents entering her into events from a young age. “I cannot remember a time when I was not competing in triathlons. I have always loved to run and swim and cycle, and that led my parents to enter me into many events such as Tinman’s and other local events.

“I turned 16 in May and international competitions like this are very new to me. I have been going through rigorous training for the past two years in preparation for the international circuit and my performance in the race today is a big confidence booster.”

Foster’s ambitions within the sport have grown massively thanks to Friday’s race and the blond athlete is keen to build on her momentum. “I want to work towards the world championship and establish myself on an international circuit. I am hungry to win medals, and my dream is to represent Team South Africa in the future at the senior Olympics. I have seen massive improvement within my performance in a short span of time and I believe there is more to squeeze out.”

The ambitious teenager is delighted with her performance, which saw a combined time of 1hr 00min 47sec on Friday. She came out of the swim in third place, only two seconds behind the leader. She slipped down the leaderboard on the 20km bike leg, which left her in ninth heading into the run. She covered that in 19:39 to cross the finish only and 60sec behind the bronze medallist.

She has thoroughly enjoyed her time in Senegal’s capital with her country behind her. Foster reflected on the experience. “This has been completely different to what I am used to. I have had an incredible time representing Team South Africa, the support has been amazing. It has been great meeting many athletes from around the world and I cannot wait for my next opportunity to experience something like this again.”

Foster is at the very beginning of her journey in competitive triathlons, and with her strong performance at the Youth Olympics, she is determined to train harder and come back stronger at the next opportunity as she dreams of bringing home medals for Team South Africa.