It wasn’t until she went to bed on Saturday night that Gillian Backhouse finally removed the Commonwealth Games gold medal from around her neck. The biggest moment of her career was achieved in the mixed-team triathlon relay that afternoon.
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“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” she told The Leader on Sunday morning. “I keep having to look at the medal to make sure it’s still there.”
The win has given the 26-year-old from Armidale a “huge” confidence boost. Backhouse wasn’t sure if she would be selected for the relay after finishing ninth in the women’s race on Thursday. She was the second Aussie across the line, behind Ashleigh Gentle.
But entrusted with the job of leading Australia off in the relay at Southport, she stuck with England’s Vicky Holland, fourth in the women’s race and the individual bronze medallist from the Rio Olympics, finishing six seconds behind her.
“I was really happy with how my leg of the race went yesterday [Saturday],” she said, “because I was racing neck and neck with Vicky Holland, who’s one of the best in the world … definitely a very high-quality athlete.”
She added: “It's certainly exciting for things to come.”
The 2014 under-23 duathlon world champion and under-23 triathlon world championship silver medallist, who has one World Triathlon Series podium finish, had regarded just competing on the Gold Coast as the biggest moment of her professional triathlon career. That has obviously been eclipsed.
Imbued with added self-belief and anticipating that her best years are yet to come, she dreams of winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In Saturday’s relay, her teammates were Matthew Hauser, Gentle and Jacob Birtwhistle. Australia beat England by 52 seconds, with New Zealand a further minute behind. The Aussies clocked one hour, 17 minutes and 36 seconds, with the four legs consisting of a 250 metre swim, a seven kilometre bike and a 1.5km run.
It was Gentle, disappointed with her fifth place in the women’s race, who provided the hosts with a 39-second lead going into the final leg.
And then Birtwhistle, second in the men’s race on Thursday, increased the margin, as England's two-time Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee’s vainly gave chase.
Backhouse’s next challenge will be the WTS race at Yokohama in May. It is the third race of the season. She finished 27th at the first race in Abu Dhabi, but will miss the second race in Bermuda. “I’ll need some time to reflect on the games and get back into training,” she said.
