Armidale’s Gillian Backhouse is back in her hometown this week after her Commonwealth Games gold medal-triumph.
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The triathlete finished in ninth place in the individual race and top spot on the podium in the team event alongside Matt Hauser, Jacob Birtwhistle and Ashleigh Gentle and at the Games on the Gold Coast.
Heading into the Games, Backhouse had her sights set on a top 10 finish in the individual event and was thrilled with her ninth spot but said she was “extremely proud” to be part of the gold medal-winning quartet in the team’s event.
“It is much different and it really helps you lift and, I think to be honest, if it had been other way around [and] we had raced the team first and then the individual second, it would have been very hard to race the individual tired because it was just two days between the two races,” she said.
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“Knowing that we are racing not only for ourselves but for our country, really helped push through the fatigue.”
Backhouse said the Games was “amazing” but she is happy to be home to relax and reflect on the experience.
“It is really nice to be back home and out of the village,” she said.
I had a go, absolutely loved it and the rest is history.
- Gillian Backhouse
“The whole hype and everything of the Games is great while you are there but it is absolutely exhausting so it is nice to have a bit of peace and quiet now.”
A swimmer and a runner growing up, Backhouse’s triathlon career didn’t begin until she was in her late-teens.
“I knew a few people through the cross country club who were involved in the triathlon club and they invited me to go along and try triathlon,” she said.
“I had seen it on [television] and thought ‘that looks like fun’ but they gave me the nudge to come to the local tri club at the end of 2007. I had a go, absolutely loved it and the rest is history.”
Backhouses entry into high-level triathlons followed a different path to many of her peers.
“I wanted to go to the Olympics since I was in year four, when the Sydney Olympics were on, but when I left school I didn't then pursue full-time sport,” she said.
I actually went and did my university degree which is quite different to what most elite-level athletes do – they go from school straight into some sort of elite-level program.
“Being from Armidale I didn't necessarily have that opportunity and I wasn't good enough, I was really just learning what triathlon was at that stage and even though the ambition was there, the opportunity wasn't there yet.
“I guess what I am trying to say is you don't have to do things the conventional way.
“Even if the opportunity isn't immediately there, it is worth continuing to pursue what you want because the opportunity may arise in the future.”
While she has competed and trained with some of the world’s best athletes, when asked who has influenced her in her sporting career, Backhouse named a few Armidale identities.
“My first swim coach, I don't think she lives here anymore, Cynthia Harwood coached me for a number of years and then Di Gray who I keep in contact with and is a bit of a mentor for me, and also Peter Wilkinson who was my cycling coach when I first started,” she said.
Before the event, Backhouse kept away from all the hype surrounding the Games to focus on the task at hand.
She said she has received plenty of messages of support since the event.
“Mostly messages post-race because I kept a pretty low profile heading into the race because I didn't want to psych myself out or anything like that,” she said.
“There are a lot of people here who said they watched the race and said congratulations.
“There was actually someone out on course after my individual race who was very excited and told me he was from Armidale.
“I had a few friends from Armidale who came up to watch and my family also came up to watch.”
Backhouse is home for a week before she heads to Hong Kong to prepare for her next race.