10/11/2010
Written by
Mehnert, pictured in Budapest in front of the Chain (Széchenyi) Bridge.
CEE junior and triathlete Michelle Mehnert competed in Budapest, Hungary, September 12 at the International Triathlon Union Age Group World Championships, placing 10th in the women’s 20-24-year-old division with a time of 2:06:44. Mehnert is a swimmer on the Fighting Illini swimming and diving team, and her concentrations within CEE are environmental engineering and hydrology.
“The race went really well!” Mehnert says. “I got to meet all the other team USA age group athletes and professionals, and explore the city a little bit while I was there. Even with all the stress of the different environment, I was able to drop 22 minutes off my time from Nationals last year.”
Mehnert described her experience in Hungary in a series of blog posts on fightingillini.com.
“It's hard for me to describe all the emotions of race morning, but some combination of eagerness, nervousness, excitement and determination covers it fairly well,” Mehnert wrote. “After the gun goes off, experience kicks in, and suddenly, you're in race mode. It doesn't matter how foreign the location or competitors are. All that matters is that there are 52 other girls out there that think they're faster than you and you're going to work your hardest to cross the finish first and prove them all wrong.
“Only nine of the 52 got me yesterday. I finished 10th and was the third American to cross the line. Following my game plan, I was second out of the swim and into transition. The bike is my weakest event, but I improved my bike time by nearly 15 minutes from last year (granted, the bike course was a bit short, but not that short). I had a great run (with some spectacular scenery I might add), improving my best run split by about 15 seconds. Better yet, I was able to catch some of the girls who had passed me on the bike to put me in 10th!”