Arina Shulgina, the representative of Astana, become the winner of Asian Cup which was held in Thailand, 24th of March. Being a gold medalist, she crossed the line, stopping the clock at 1 hour 3 minutes and 13 seconds, followed by Menging Chun from China. Another athlete from China won a bronze medal.

According to Andriy Glushchenko, (coach of Arina), the race was not easy for Arina, but, as it said, the harder you work, the more valuable your victory. At the first stage, she managed to exit the waters just 30 seconds behind the representative from China.  Instead of gaining time, she lost 30 more seconds in cycling. Running is considered the decisive stage in the triathlon competition, that is why every effort to win should be made. Thanks to running, Arina pushed herself into the leading position. As a result, she proved to be the best.

ATF: For all I know, conditions for a race are not the easiest in Thailand. The question which arises from here is how did you get acclimated?

ASH: 2 days prior to competition were complicated and I could move just calmly. On the day of competition, I more or less get acclimated to the environment of Thailand. Meanwhile, the hot weather being my favorite one helped me to complete the race successfully.

ATF: How did your triathlon journey pass?

ASH: I was deeply concerned about the swimming session since I had not competed in a long distance for a long time. Fortunately, I completed biking and running as planned.

ATF: Did your coach point out to you, or you raced on your own?

ASH: Yes, he did, especially during cycling and at the end of running. Considering the fact that there were no race markers along the way, he helped a lot.

ATF: How was your last stage in view of the fact that you were far enough from first runners?

ASH: At the start, I did not even see my competitor who had already far ahead. I was running at my own pace and trying to show sufficient results during running.  But seeing her in the deep distance, I hoped to catch her up. It was hard to calculate the strength within 5km circle, instead of the usual 2.5km. I eventually reached her in the last 1.5 km prior to the finish.

ATF: What did you feel after triumphantly completing the race?

ASH: I was incredibly happy because I managed to reach the finish.

Source: http://triathlon.org.kz/ru/news/dolgozdannaa-pobeda