By Jonty Ralphsmith
A strong Para Championships event in Spain has Officer triathlete Jack Howell well positioned to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
The teenager finished sixth, just behind Brazilian Ronan Cordeiro in a photo-finish, ahead of Australian teammate David Bryant, who he overtook in a strong run-leg to finish.
His time of 59:05 is his best since the World Triathlon Para Series in Yokohama in May.
By admission, Howell’s series races at Swansea and Montreal, and Para Cup test event in Paris on next year’s Paralympic track fell below expectation.
But his result at the Championships in Spain in late September has kept his Paralympic ranking at nine, with the top nine as at 30 June 2024 qualifying for Paris.
“I think one of the factors of having such a good race was that the ride had a significant hill,” Howell reflected.
“A third of the bike course was going up a gradual hill, which is my ticket to hang on to the top guys who tend to ride away from me when it is a chill, flat ride about raw power.
“I would’ve liked to have been closer to the podium…I had a really good run, my fastest ever.
“That allowed me to overtake a few people and get a photo finish.
“The more I talk about it, the more I think it is was a great race for me – I was excited I could have a sprint finish like that and even though I came out on the wrong end of it, I was still very excited I was racing that style.
“I’ve never been in a sprint finish before and to come from 40 seconds behind him at the start of the run, to just being done by a photo finish was something I was rapt with.”
Reflecting on the Paris event, where he had minimal acclimatisation period compared to the Para Championships, he’s now more conscious of what the course holds.
The bike leg is largely ridden on cobblestones, while the aquatic leg is swum in a river, with the strong currents posing challenges.
Illness saw him finish last of the nine competitors – the first time that has happened – following a fourth-placed finish in Swansea and sixth-placing in Montreal.
After a gruelling 10 months of racing, Howell is currently enjoying some rest, ahead of important races early in 2024 to cement his spot on the start line in Paris.
Howell was born with an absence of the left hand and shortening of the left forearm, known as symbrachydactly.
Thus, his left hand sits in a cup-like device during the cycle, allowed in the PTS5 category where athletes race with mild impairments and are permitted to use supportive devices.
In September, Howell received a Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship.
