Erica Hawley competed in the Continental Championships in Brazil and was 4th in the Under 23 Division and 9th in the Elite Field, everyone raced together but the Under 23 is separated as a championship result.
Hawley competed in an Olympic Distance event which was her first ITU Olympic Distance crossing the line in a time of 2:06:30.
Hawley said, “I had a really good day today at this distance and I am very pleased with my result.”
Hawley came out of the water in main group of about 12 women in a time of 21:27. Hawley stated, “The swim seemed a bit long for sure.”
Hawley was clocked 1:05:03 on the Bike Course, before closing out with a time of 39:16.
Hawley went on to say, “The bike was fast but I rode very controlled in the pack. The run was quite hard as it was 4 laps with a low gradient hill on each lap. My first 5km was good but the 2nd 5km hurt a lot, as it did for everyone. I did still run a decent 10km so was pleased overall.”
Hawley concluded, “I achieved my objective of gaining more ITU points and Olympic Qualification points. It's my first year in Under 23 so I am very pleased with 4th overall in this.”