Ash Gentle wins eighth Noosa triathlon to rebound from Tokyo disappointment

After hitting rock bottom in Tokyo, Ash Gentle was just happy to compete in the Noosa Triathlon, but she rediscovered her happy place and it reaped the ultimate reward.

A hard-fought Noosa Triathlon victory may be just the thing to salve Ash Gentle’s Olympic wounds but it was being able to compete, rather than her record-extending eighth win, that has helped the Queenslander put a tough year behind her.

A former World Triathlon Series final winner, Gentle rebounded from a post-Olympic “rock bottom” after failing to finish in Tokyo, to find her happy place again in Noosa.

“I feel a lot of relief, to be honest,” Gentle said after overhauling early leaders Milan Agnew and Sophie Malowiecki to break the tape.

“It was a tough day out there and I’m just really happy to come away with the win.”

The victory extended the Gold Coast product’s record run of seven Noosa titles to take her tally to eight, ahead of former coach Craig Walton (six) and childhood hero Emma Snowsill (five).

But more than victory, just lining up in the famous race again after its Covid-enforced hiatus last year was special.

“I missed it so much, it feels like a long two years. It was pretty devastating not to have Noosa Tri last year,” the now Brisbane-based Gentle said.

Ash Gentle on her way to victory in the Noosa Triathlon. Picture: Alex Polizzi

“Obviously, winning means a lot and breaking the records means a lot but it’s not what I was thinking of – I was honestly just so grateful to be out here and be at a mass participation event.

“It’s definitely true, with everything going on you just learn to be a bit more grateful for what you have.”

Gentle said she “somehow found something to take the win” in the run, after hitting the lead 3km from the finish, but may have run her last race of a tumultuous year.

“I was going to do a couple more races and I still might, but when I was on that run I kind of called it a year,” she said.

Former Commonwealth Games representative Luke Willian won the men’s race by six seconds from a fast-finishing Nicholas Free, with Lorcan Redmond third.

Ash Gentle breaks the tape first for the eighth time. Picture: Alex Polizzi

Brisbane-based Willian, 25, was in the front pack from the swim and held Free off in a sprint finish to record arguably the biggest individual win of his career.

“This has been the big goal at the back end of the year and to finish off on a high is phenomenal, I’m absolutely over the moon,” he said.

“It’s always been a goal to win, so to come back after a year off (for the race) and get the job done is amazing.”

The biggest Olympic-distance race in the world pre-Covid, the Noosa Triathlon had just over 6000 competitors take part on Sunday in an encouraging sign things are edging back to “normal” despite ongoing border closures preventing many interstate and overseas athletes from taking part.

Inside Gentle’s Noosa Tri redemption race

— Liz Walsh

Australian triathlete Ashleigh Gentle headed into the Tokyo Olympics chasing redemption but instead finished with an inglorious “DNF” beside her name.

Having finished 26th at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the 30-year-old Queenslander was determined to make the most of what may have been her final Games.

But after being lapped out in the bike leg, Gentle registered a “did not finish” in the individual women’s event and then finished ninth in the team event.

Instead, Gentle is hoping to make amends at the Noosa Triathlon this weekend where she is hoping to win her eighth title, making her the most successful Noosa triathlete.

It’s all part of Gentle’s plan to “move on”.

“I’m not going to make excuses for myself, I was prepared (for Tokyo) and there were a lot of challenges, for sure, leading into it and the last five years have been exceptionally challenging,” she said.

“But I felt like I was in a really good place before the Games, so it was tough, but everyone had to endure those conditions.”

She said a two-week stint in hotel quarantine upon returning to Australia gave her plenty of time to reflect.

“I really struggled in quarantine, because it just felt so crazy that there had been such a big build up to the Olympics for five years and so many things changed for me during that time,” she said.

Gentle of Team Australia competes during the Women's Individual Triathlon on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Odaiba Marine Park. Picture: GETTY

Olympic triathlete Ashleigh Gentle. Picture: TRIATHLON AUSTRALIA

“It was insane how many times my plan had changed between Rio and then doing the Olympics and then all of a sudden I was in quarantine and it was all a bit surreal to then be like: ‘Wow, that was so disappointing’ and try and process that was difficult.

“(My performance) was no way a representation of who I am as an athlete, so I think if I let that completely define me, it’s going to really hamper my ability to move on and keep going with my career.

“I have to let it be what it was and move on, otherwise I will get stuck..”

That “moving on” starts on Sunday when Gentle attempts to win her eighth Noosa Triathlon.

She said leaving quarantine and having the Noosa event to concentrate on, had helped her put Tokyo behind her.

“(If I didn’t put it behind me) I think I probably wouldn’t have made the start line (in Noosa) because it would have been too emotionally taxing to get up every day and prepare to still be wallowing in my disappointment from the Olympics.

“So I’ve tried to put it behind me and I think that Noosa has helped me do that.

“Every Noosa Triathlon has had its own unique story, so it would just be so great to be able to finish a challenging few years with a victory in a race that means a lot to me.

“I always dig very deep and am able to find something pretty special for Noosa and I hope I can stick to that theme this year as well and come out with the win.

“I just want to go out there and execute a race I’m really proud of.”

So as she heads towards the start line at Noosa on Sunday morning, it’s nothing but excitement she’s feeling.

“I’m sure I’ll feel a little bit nervous, but I’m just excited to be a part of a mass racing event with 9000 people participating over the weekend,” she said.

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MIND UPLIFTER:

As Ashleigh Gentle sat in a small demountable in hotel quarantine in the Northern Territory having just returned to Australia from a disappointing showing at the Tokyo Olympics, she was forced to grapple with mind games.

Unable to exercise because of the tiny living space, she sat on the unit’s veranda watching the remaining week of the Olympics on her laptop and reading books.

“I was always thinking in the back of my mind, ‘I don’t really want to go on a break’,” she said.

“I felt terrible being in quarantine.

“I know you think: ‘Oh, it’s just two weeks’, but for us, when it’s normal for us to be training multiple sessions a day, it’s actually a really long time you were de-training.

“And it all adds up. So I felt pretty bad leaving quarantine.”

Gentle in action in Tokyo. Picture: GETTY

Gentle, 30, says the enforced break gave her a unique insight into the positive effects of exercise, which is why she’s participating in a live study into the impact of movement on the mind and see the uplift on their own mind, while competing in the 2021 Noosa Triathlon Series using a unique phone app called The Mind Uplifter developed by ASICS.

She encouraged other triathlon entrants to sign up, with the Noosa Triathlon to be an Australian-first in terms of using app in a large-scale capacity with an expected 9000 competitors on the ground.

Using a combination of facial scanning technology and self-report data collection, people are able to capture the impact of sport across 10 emotional and cognitive metrics – including confidence, positivity, calm and focus.

This data will feed into a live global study, capturing individual Mind Uplifts from across the Noosa Triathlon and visually transforming them into a dynamic and interactive World Uplift Map. The map will quantify the positive impact that sport is having on the collective mood of cities, nations and the world as a whole.

Exercise is Ashleigh Gentle’s happy place. Picture: PATRICK WOODS

Gentle said the app had enabled her to see the difference even 20 minutes of exercise made to her general wellbeing.

“I have been using the app as part of my training because it’s not just about how physically fit you are, but also how you are feeling mentally and the app really helps me monitor where I have sitting emotionally,” Gentle said.

For more information see: minduplifter.asics.com