It is known as post-Olympic depression, and triathlete Emma Moffatt was suffering badly after winning a bronze medal at the Beijing Games. Early this year, she had had enough and decided she wanted to quit her sport. She needed to do something if she was to revive her career, so she moved to the Gold Coast, teamed with coach Craig Walton and three-time world champion Emma Snowsill. Seven months later, she was outsprinting Sweden’s Lisa Norden to wrap up the world triathlon title. After finishing second to Snowsill in Seoul, Moffatt rebounded to win in Washington and Kitzbuehel. Shortly before the next race in Hamburg, she suffered plantar fasciitis – a tear of the ligament in the arch of her foot. She duly raced through the pain to win the event, but such exertion took its toll and doctors insisted she sit out the next two rounds of the championships. Norden closed the gap in Moffatt’s absence, but she returned for a showdown on home turf in the final race in September. Showing untold grit, Moffatt delighted the Gold Coast crowd to win the event and secure the world title won by Snowsill in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Michael Cowley
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