Emma Moffatt conquers London demons at final Olympics in fitting farewell

EMMA Moffatt conquered her demons and defied her own expectations with an Olympic farewell performance to prove she is one of Australia’s toughest triathletes.

Emma Moffatt said she conquered her London demons in Rio

EMMA Moffatt conquered her demons and defied her own expectations with an Olympic farewell performance to prove she is one of Australia’s toughest triathletes.

Just four years after her London Olympic bike crash left her bloodied and bruised, Moffatt fought back from the brink of retirement and returned to the Olympic stage with a brave performance to finish sixth at Copacabana.

In a race that featured a tricky hill climb that has brought many triathletes unstuck in the past, Moffatt navigated the course and almost replicated her stunning Beijing Olympics bronze medal as she powered along with the leaders until the final run leg.

Moffatt finished sixth in her final Olympic campaign

The 31-year-old just wasn’t quite quick enough to go with them at the end as she crossed the line 1hr:57min:55secs, less than a minute off another podium result and 69 seconds behind USA’s gold medallist Gwen Jorgensen.

It was a positive way to end her Olympic career having originally thought she would retire after the London Games in 2012.

“There were a few demons with me still from London and that was a course I wasn’t worried about, but coming here and going up and down that hill was one of my demons I had to face,” Moffatt said.

Moffatt said she conquered her London demons in Rio

“I practiced it at home I guess – going on similar hills and replicating what I could and working on my bike skills, so I was very relieved to get off the bike and onto the run with no bruises or blood.

“Coming away with sixth place is probably more than I expected so yeah I’m really happy.

“I knew it was going to be a hard race but I didn’t really expect to go that well – there’s a lot of quality athletes that get on the start line so yeah I’m really happy with how I went.”

Moffatt and London bronze medallist Erin Densham were in the lead pack from the opening swim leg, but fellow Gold Coast Ashleigh Gentle was caught more than 30 seconds behind out of the water and from there she could never catch up to finish in 26th place.

Erin Densham also competed for Australia in the triathlon

Densham struggled through the last lap of the run leg but leaves Rio content with her efforts after a difficult injury-interrupted four years since London.

“Leading in I did everything I could, absolutely everything I could and I laid it all out there today and I’m so happy with how it went,” Densham said.

“To finish my third Olympics the way I did I couldn’t be prouder.”

At 25, Gentle’s Olympic debut bodes well for the future despite finishing in 2:01:44 and over five minutes behind Jorgensen.

Gentle was never going to be near the pointy end of the field after missing the lead group on the bike and will need to improve her swim leg in the coming four years to be a threat in Tokyo.

“I knew what I had to do coming in and I worked hard on the swim but it didn’t work out but I’ve got four years to put it all together for Tokyo and I will take this experience with me for the ride,” Gentle said.

“I’ve got a few more races to go this year to finish the year on a good note.”

Originally published as Emma Moffatt conquers London demons at final Olympics in fitting farewell