She was starting a long way off, but triathlete Amélie Kretz obtained her Olympic qualification. It will take part in its second Games after those in Rio in 2016.
“This selection is as good as the first, said Kretz who took the 34 th place in Rio. The selection process has not been super easy in the last few months as I competed in four events in five weeks to secure a second entry in the women’s competition for Canada. “
His 6 th position in Portugal gave him an interesting jump in the ranking for the Olympic selections. Kretz had to slip into the top 55 for Canada to get an additional entry.
“In March, I was the 87 th rank and my performance in Portugal helped pull myself into 53 th position, has she explained. I managed to stay in the top 55 after that. Even though I had qualified the country, I was not sure of second place, but I was confident. “
Ironically, Kretz’s performance will allow Canada to build on a mixed relay team in Tokyo. In Portugal, Triathlon Canada fielded its B team in the relay when an Olympic qualification was at stake. Faced with this decision, Kretz withdrew from the relay to concentrate on the individual event.
“It was not obvious the changes of objectives over the years, underlined Kretz who had denounced the situation in a text published by Sportcom. It was the right decision to retire because the relay was no longer the priority in order to concentrate on my individual event. In Tokyo, this is the first time that Canada will bet on a relay and we could surprise. At the world championship in 2019, we finished twice in the top 5. “
Highs and lows
After a first confinement in March 2020 which went well, Kretz does not hide that motivation was difficult from October. “I had given myself a period of rest as usual, but the lack of races on my return hit me, she said. I had motivation problems. I love to train, but it’s in order to race. “
“I went through ups and downs and at one point I wondered about my chances of getting back to my best level,” Kretz continued. Many no longer believed in my chances, but my family and my team have always believed in me. I rebuilt my confidence and that’s what I was missing. “
In the race for second place for men, Alexis Lepage was not selected.