One talking point heading into WTCS Abu Dhabi was what impact Hayden Wilde’s winter of swimming would have.
In the end, Wilde emerged from the water 42 seconds down on the leader, Vincent Luis, and in 57th place. It should be noted, though, that he left the water one place ahead of Manoel Messias who went on to win bronze.
As such, Wilde was still in the game at that point.
However, Wilde’s day was over almost instantly out of T1.
He was forced to change his wheel in the opening stages of the bike. Technically, he had the fastest wheel change of the day.
That misfortune, however, left him stranded in last place. As a result, he was forced to ride most of the course alone. At one point, he was a minute down on the next rider on the track (Gustav Iden) and ended up ceding almost two minutes across the bike to the main group.
Wilde, though, did not throw in the towel.
He admirably continued despite the drama over his wheel and latched onto the last group into T2. By his own admission, he took the bike at about 90% effort.
His run was then altogether more impressive. He recorded a 14:42 run, only 16 seconds off what the winner and fastest runner of the day, Alex Yee, produced. With that, he lifted himself to 46th at the finish.
Moreover, given that he was out of the running for medals or any meaningful points in the overall Series, it is fair to assume that Wilde was not running at full capacity. Had he been in a direct race with Yee, it is not a stretch of the imagination to suggest that he could have been closer than 16 seconds on the run.
On another day, then, Hayden Wilde could have contended for the medals in Abu Dhabi.
Alas, that pesky wheel cost him. In the grander scheme of things, he will hope that does not come back to bite him at the end of the season.
