A year of highlights, including new a bike and some strong race finishes, but also some injuries and struggles. Our sponsored rider, Seraphina Harris, give you the low down on her 2023.
“Heading into a new year injured and ill is definitely not where I wanted to be, but that’s sport for you, it comes with massive highs and some real lows, and 2023 was bursting with both.
I started the year off with the LVYCC Winter Races – Round 1. It was a miserable day- absolutely throwing it down, but funnily enough, I actually really enjoy racing in these conditions, and they seem to provide me good results. That day, I came in 5th place, behind some strong competition. At this point, I felt confident I was where I needed to be, going into the British Triathlon Performance Assessment Weekend (PAs).
The PAs are the first event of the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series. All athletes with aspirations to race in the British Youth and Junior Super Series are required to attend the PA’s, with the results from the weekend setting the order of entry for the initial races. The assessments include a swim time-trial on the Saturday, followed by a combined, timed bike-run on the Sunday. They were probably my best races of the year; I had solid results that set me up nicely.
A couple of weeks later, I flew out to Ibiza for the Worlds Multi Sports Championships, as part of the GB team for the Sprint Duathlon. At 15, I was the youngest competitor there, which felt like a great achievement.
It was fantastic to be around athletes from all over the world. The run was along the beach front and marina which was really scenic, I had a good run and came out of transition 1st in ladies. I kept a strong position, but coming into the last stretch at the front, I was wiped out by someone that had lost control. I don’t really remember much, but apparently, my bike went in the air one way and me the other, and I came round with the peloton on top of me.
Fortunately, I did no real damage to myself, unlike my bike, that was not fit to carry on. To say I was heartbroken would have been an understatement. Luckily, I was surrounded by a lot of wonderful friends that were racing out there and family and we definitely enjoyed the remaining time in Ibiza.
Travel was quite big for me last year, I am thoroughly enjoying exploring new countries on my bike, and I can’t wait for 2024’s Australia for the Worlds multi sports championships and Portugal for the Europeans, where I’ll be again representing Great Britain.
Then, came Llanelli. This year, thanks to my results at the PAs, I had a good start position on the beach, I was really happy with my swim and was having a strong cycle, but unfortunately, there was glass on the road that was unavoidable, and both my tires exploded. This incident gave me some nasty flashbacks from the crash in Ibiza, and I found myself filled with emotion that yet again, I wouldn’t be able to finish a race.
The rest of 2023 thankfully wasn’t quite so disastrous. I managed to keep steady results, but I’d not been feeling well for a while, so training and racing was tough, an old foot injury had begun to niggle as well, so I pulled out of all running races, so that I could still manage triathlons.
I had numerous blood tests and ECGs throughout the summer and was monitored by my coaches and doctors. The day I collected my new bike I was diagnosed with tonsillitis. I felt awful, but nothing was going to stop me racing at Thruxton two days later, going on to qualify for the 2024 Worlds in Australia.
The next day, I became very poorly, and blood tests showed I had glandular fever. I have now been out of action for a couple of months, which is daunting, not only because this is when the training counts, but also I am juggling my training with mocks and GCSEs. I know I’ve got a bit of a battle to get back to where I need to be physically and probably mentally, but with the help of my amazing coaches, who are monitoring me constantly, and support from my sponsors, I know that I’ll be back training soon and I am excited for the future on my bike.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, of course.
The highlight of the year was my bike. My beloved Trek Madone SL7 GEN 7. I can’t thank Highway Cycles, Trek and Bontrager enough for sponsoring me and I’m really looking forward to see where this bike will take me in 2024.”
To keep tabs on Seraphina’s progress in 2024, visit: Seraphina
Harris – British Triathlon
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