NEWS

Focus on Age Group Athletes: Birna Björnsdóttir (ICE)

By David Peddie | 11 Sep, 2013

Name:   Birna Björnsdóttir
National Federation: Iceland
Age Group:  40-44 Female

Birna Björnsdóttir is the perfect example of the sacrifices made by thousands of Age Group athletes competing in Triathlon competitions around the World.

As a firefighter and paramedic in her homeland, her important life saving work takes priority and the 12hour shifts can be draining. “When I have had a hard day at work and need a extra rest, then I sometimes have to skip training and rest instead,” admits Birna.

“If you train a lot you have to be careful about getting enough sleep. My shifts are a bit long so when you come home after a 12hour work you do not have energy for anything else that day. I find that rather difficult in my case, every week is different and I have to manage my training program and make a special plan for every week. It depends on how many days I have work and how many days I have off how many times I can train each week.”

A former swimmer in her homeland, Birna is making her World Championship debut in London. “My first triathlon was 2011 and it was a sprint distance. I did not have a bike so I had to borrow from a friend. I got my own bike in the beginning of 2012 and from then on I have been training for sprint and olympic distance.

“Triathlon is getting more and more popular every year here in Iceland and there is around 60-120 people who take part in every competition with 10-12 competitions over the summer. Half ironman is the longest distance here in Iceland but many Icelanders have finished the ironman distance in other countries all over the world.”

And despite being excited about the competition, Birna admits she has had to sacrifice a lot to get there. “To prepare well for London I have been competing a lot this summer.

“Almost every weekend I’ve had a competition or a long training session so I have not been spending as much time with my family. I have a husband and two boys, 13 and 10 years old. But I will try to be there for them after the competition in London.”
 

Related Event: 2013 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final London
11 - Sep, 2013 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Javier Gomez Noya ESP 01:48:16
2. Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:48:17
3. Mario Mola ESP 01:49:10
4. Dmitry Polyanskiy AIN 01:49:21
5. Vincent Luis FRA 01:49:24
6. Laurent Vidal FRA 01:49:28
7. Aaron Royle AUS 01:49:30
8. Crisanto Grajales Valencia MEX 01:49:32
9. Reinaldo Colucci BRA 01:49:34
10. Joao Pereira POR 01:49:34
Results: Elite Women
1. Non Stanford GBR 02:01:32
2. Aileen Reid IRL 02:01:57
3. Emma Moffatt AUS 02:02:00
4. Jodie Stimpson GBR 02:02:06
5. Alice Betto ITA 02:02:09
6. Emma Jackson AUS 02:02:11
7. Sarah True USA 02:02:16
8. Andrea Hansen NZL 02:02:56
9. Ashleigh Gentle AUS 02:03:06
10. Ainhoa Murua Zubizarreta ESP 02:03:26
Results: Junior Men
1. Dorian Coninx FRA 00:51:57
2. Marc Austin GBR 00:52:00
3. Grant Sheldon GBR 00:52:01
4. Raphael Montoya FRA 00:52:19
5. Gordon Benson GBR 00:52:25
6. Jacob Birtwhistle AUS 00:52:28
7. Amitai Yonah ISR 00:52:32
8. Morgan Davies GBR 00:52:32
9. Antonio Serrat Seoane ESP 00:52:33
10. Lasse Nygaard Priester GER 00:52:40
Results: Junior Women
1. Tamara Gorman USA 00:57:08
2. Georgia Taylor-Brown GBR 00:57:31
3. Laura Lindemann GER 00:57:34
4. Jaz Hedgeland AUS 00:57:39
5. Sumire Ohara JPN 00:57:51
6. Cassandre Beaugrand FRA 00:58:02
7. Ditte Kristensen DEN 00:58:28
8. Holly Grice AUS 00:58:47
9. Maya Kingma NED 00:58:54
10. Sophia Saller GER 00:58:56
Results: U23 Men
1. Pierre Le Corre FRA 01:42:47
2. Fernando Alarza ESP 01:42:51
3. Declan Wilson AUS 01:42:55
4. Igor Polyanskiy RUS 01:43:16
5. Matthias Steinwandter ITA 01:43:27
6. Andrey Bryukhankov RUS 01:43:44
7. Uxio Abuin Ares ESP 01:44:00
8. Ryan Fisher AUS 01:44:02
9. Davide Uccellari ITA 01:44:05
10. Marten Van Riel BEL 01:44:12
Results: U23 Women
1. Charlotte McShane AUS 01:55:38
2. Ellen Pennock CAN 01:55:39
3. Amelie Kretz CAN 01:55:41
4. Hanna Philippin GER 01:55:43
5. Joanna Brown CAN 01:55:49
6. Tamara Gomez Garrido ESP 01:55:57
7. Sophie Corbidge NZL 01:56:18
8. Tamsyn Moana-Veale AUS 01:56:31
9. Emmie Charayron FRA 01:56:39
10. Sara Vilic AUT 01:56:57