She’s been at it again.
Rising Swedish star Tilda Månsson broke the Swedish National Junior record in the 5000m as she crushed a time of 15:46.58 in Stockholm. Her performance came barely three weeks after she dropped a 33:07 10km on the track in training.
The race came just days after she turned nineteen years old. As birthday presents go, that isn’t a bad one to give yourself.
Her performance in Stockholm is not the first Swedish Junior record of the year. Back in January, Månsson nailed an indoor 3000m in 9:08.85 to crack the existing record.
Courtesy of John “Jesus” Kingstedt and Manne Forsseberg, Månsson descended her kilometres and closed the race in three minutes flat. That represents closing speed that would worry several men in the WTCS.
In addition Kingstedt and Forsseberg noted that Månsson warmed up by cycling for 2.5 hours and the day prior completed a double threshold training day. Her time in the Stockholm Olympiastadion therefore only just scratched the surface of what she might be able to do.
She also raced barely five days after taking on the European Cup in Caorle. Despite missing the breakaway, Månsson ran through to 6th place in Caorle with the fastest split of the day.
Next weekend, the Swedish prodigy will be racing at WTCS Cagliari. It is too soon in her career to expect anything outlandish. Her swim is not yet up to front pack standard. That is not intended as a slight; no one can be a perfect triathlete at nineteen. Similarly, due to her age, she does not have the miles in her legs to be anywhere near her full capacity on the bike.
As a result, no one should expect a miraculous medal.
And yet, Månsson was not on the radar at the Senior level before the Bergen World Cup last year and she won that (albeit over the Sprint distance). With running ability as incredible as hers, she could just threaten the top-20 or even the top-10 regardless of how the race pans out in the first two disciplines.
To date, her only WTCS appearance came at last year’s Final in Abu Dhabi where she finished 44th. If she can hit a personal best in Cagliari, such as first ever top-20, that would represent a big step forward.
Whatever happens next, Månsson is speed-running her way to the top.
