Queensland high school student Ellie Salthouse will kick-start Australia’s Youth Olympic campaign tomorrow, competing in the first medal event of the Games, the women’s triathlon.

“I'm excited to be the first event,” Salthouse said. “I can't wait to get out and race.”

The 17-year-old was calm and collected on the eve of her Youth Olympic debut, training on the East Coast Park course in the morning before having a quiet afternoon to prepare for the race.

“It’s a really good race course,” she said. “It’s flat so it will be fast. Really fast.”

Athletes will complete a 750m open-water swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.

Salthouse’s preferred discipline of the three is the run-leg and she is happy with the flat course, despite it being unprotected from the sun.

“The course conditions are perfect for me,” she said. “My run is my strongest leg so I really hope that the flat course will allow me to pick up speed and gain on my opponents.”

With little international experience, Salthouse goes into the race without much knowledge of how she will fare against the other 31 girls in the race.

“I don't know a lot about my competitors so I’ll do my own race, stick to my tactics and hope that I can win a medal,” Salthouse explained.

“I’ll go out hard in the swim, try as hard as I can in the bike and then do everything I can to come home in the run.”

Triathlon will take place at East Coast Park from 9.00am (local time) Sunday 15 August.

Alice Wheeler
AOC