Winnipegger Nicole Walker heads to Ironman World Championship

Winnipeg triathlete Nicole Walker says she looks forward to a challenge on land, water and bicycle as she competes in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii next weekend.

The 27-year-old is travelling on Friday to Kona, Hawaii, ahead of the big race Oct. 8.

She qualified for the world championship after capturing the top spot in the female amateur division of the Ironman North American Championship in Texas in May.

• Manitoba's Nicole Walker takes top spot in Ironman North American Championship

Walker said this will be her fourth full Ironman race but her first world championship, and she's expecting to encounter a challenging course along with tough competition.

"Every girl who I'm going to be racing there had to win a race to get there, so I think it'll be a really deep field, and it's my first time there, so I don't really know where I'll place," she told CBC News on Thursday.

"I think as long as I race hard and race to my ability, I'll be happy."

The competition will push athletes to their limits, swimming 3.8 kilometres, cycling 180.2 kilometres and running 42.2 kilometres.

"I like the challenge of pushing myself and seeing if I can go faster," she said.

Walker, who has been training specifically for the world championship for the last six months, said she hopes to complete the race in 10 to 10½ hours.

"My strong point would be the run, but I've really picked up on the bike this year, and I'm really excited to see how I do on the bike," she said.

"The ocean swim is going to be a lot different than swimming in the lake so [I] try to spend a fair bit of time out by Victoria Beach and swimming in the big waves there to simulate it, but you don't get the big ocean swells and you definitely don't see the fish underneath you."

Winnipegger heads to Ironman World Championship

8 years ago

Duration 0:58

Winnipeg triathlete Nicole Walker says she looks forward to a challenge on land, water and bicycle as she competes in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii next weekend.