CAROLYN MURRAY HOMECOMING

By Jeff Hansen

St. Albert Gazette

September 3, 2008

HOME is where the heart is for St. Albert's Olympic triathete, Carolyn Murray. “It’s such a great feeling to come back home. St. Albert is always going to be a special place for me. I had a great childhood here,” the Victoria-based Murray told the Gazette after officially announcing the start of Monday’s race.

Murray shared experiences of her Olympic journey with race competitors during the
medal ceremonies at Fountain Park Recreation Centre. “We have such high expectations as a professional athlete. You always want to do the best you possibly can. It's either winning or being close and being competitive. Although in my mind I wasn't competitive in the race, in other people's eyes it's quite a different story. It's something they wouldn't even dream of doing and if that inspires them, whether I know them or not, then it's great."

DREAM COME TRUE

The Olympics lived up to their advance billing as the greatest show on Earth.  Murray's time over the Olympic distance (1.5 kilometre swim, 40 km cycle and 10km run)was two hours, four minutes and 56 seconds. Kathy Tremblay of Montreal placed 31st overall at 2:05:23.  Lauren Groves of Vancouver didn’t finish after fracturing an elbow while crashing on the bike.

“The race was definitely a disappointment.  I was overcome with the heat and really wasn't able to actually race it. I  was more of a participant. I wasn’t able to show the fitness that I worked so hard to get to," Murray said. "But honestly, the journey to get there and to be able to work as hard as I did up to that point is all that I could ask for myself.”

Murray  found herself in hot water in the swim. She dragged herself out of the water in 40th spot and was determined to make up for lost time. Her energy level took a dangerous dip on the run. “At that point it was a matter of just crossing the line. There is a lot to be said about that because it was a tough day out
there. A lot of the athletes that expected to podium struggled.” Murray was physically drained after crossing the finish line.  Murray had no regrets in the way she prepared for the biggest race of her career.  She had raced the Olympic course before, the only difference this time was the warm water.

LAST HURRAH

“I’m not going to stop racing, but I’m not going to do any more World Cups,” said Murray, who won her first World Cup race in May in South Africa. Murray wants to coach future Olympians at the grassroots level.

jhansen@stalbert.greatwest.ca