Josie’s last leg before the Championships
10 October 2023
Triathlete Josie Smailes, who is sponsored by Fortius Clinic, has been racing hard in the run up to the Ironman World Championships this month.
23-year-old Josie came second in the London Triathlon in June which she completed in 4 hours 53 minutes. She came third in the British Middle-Distance Championships in July which she completed in 4 hours 59 minutes. Both these competitions were half Ironman distance. More recently she came second in the U25 category in the Weymouth Ironman 70.3 race where she qualified for the 70.3 World Championships in New Zealand in 2024.
Josie said: “A time trial format meant I started the race in around 2323th place – and I passed number 200 on the bike leg! This in conjunction with a huge electrical storm summarises the carnage of the race. But I was pleased to have had a last competitive effort before this year’s World Championships and to have gone into my last big block of training relatively injury free. It also gave me the chance to thoroughly test my equipment and fine-tune my race strategies.”
For the past few weeks Josie has been doing UK-based controlled heat training to ensure she is acclimatised for when she competes in the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 14. She has also been working closely with a race nutritionist to develop a specialised fuelling strategy tailored to the climate in Kona.
Josie will be competing in the under 25s age category against around 50 other competitors.
She said: “The hours of hard work and preparation are behind me, and it's time to shift my focus towards executing my race strategy and giving it my all out on the 140.6-mile course. I’m incredibly grateful to the team at Fortius for their generous sponsorship and unwavering support. Over the past year, this partnership has played a pivotal role in transforming my dream into a reality, and I eagerly anticipate representing Fortius on the world stage.”
Josie has 10 days in Kona to prepare for the race. We wish her the best of luck!
Find out how Josie gets in Kona on our social channels.
