Zoe Heiniger won her age group of the Noosa Ironman on an injured foot.
What she’ll be able to achieve at the world championships injury-free next year is anyone’s guess.
The Bond University Master of Occupational Therapy graduate couldn’t run for a month leading into the gruelling 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run – but still won her age group in an impressive 10 hours 30 minutes and 13 seconds.
She beat her closest competitor by over three minutes.
“I got to the point where I wasn’t going to do it but I had done a lot of training and felt like I should give it a crack,” Heiniger said.
“I figured it would hurt anyway, so I’m really glad I did it, it went really well and my foot held up.
“I’m not too sure how I did it to be perfectly honest. The fastest way for it to finish was to keep on running.
“I got off the bike and thought, I’ve already done seven hours, what’s another three or four, get it done.
“A lot of things hurt, which probably drowned out the pain in my foot. I don’t think I actually felt it throughout the race.”
Heiniger will turn her attention to the world triathlon championships in Utah next year after graduating, securing a job with Gold Coast Health, getting engaged and buying a property in Robina.
“It has been crazy,” she said.
“My fiancé Mick also qualified for worlds, so we train together and push each other.
“We were meant to do worlds previously in New Zealand but it got postponed due to Covid.
“They have been rescheduled to Utah next year in October.”
Heiniger is hoping to stay injury-free in her build-up to the world championships.