CAROLINE Steffen is the first to admit she enjoys a challenge.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the win at Ironman Western Australia last month will take its place in the top five of her best-ever performances.
Competing in her first full Ironman race since Kona in 2015 – and her 21st overall – Steffen blitzed the field to cruise to the finish line.
Not only did Steffen win by almost 20 minutes, she also sliced an incredible five minutes off the previous course record.
“I had a look at the race record before I even started (the race) because that’s just me, I like to challenge myself a bit and then I realised during the race I was going really well,” she said.
The victory ended a three-year stint in the full-distance wilderness which enabled her to recharge the batteries and have now-11-month-old son Xander.
“I’m very proud of where I came from having Xander, being pregnant, not being able to do the sport for a year and then to come back to full fitness and compare myself to the best in the world,” Steffen said.
“I try not to put pressure on about reaching goals, but I’m in a happy spot at the moment.”
I had a look at the race record before I even started (the race) because that’s just me, I like to challenge myself a bit.
- Caroline Steffen
And it is that level of happiness that provided the key to the Swiss superstar’s incredible performance.
“It's very important to be in a happy place; I said before the race I didn’t care about a ranking or qualifications, all I wanted to do was see where I’m at,” she said.
“It means a lot to be back in shape and back doing what I love to do; I wanted to see what I was capable of and go from there.”
She moved to Port Macquarie two years ago and was the first to admit the break provided a good opportunity to assess whether she would be able to return to the full-distance event.
“It wasn’t on my radar to return in those three years because I’ve done 20 full Ironman’s and the thought was if my body had had enough and if it was a bit too much,” Steffen said.
“I freshened up, changed my training, did more short and fast things to give my body a recovery and after one year I liked it so I put in another year.
It wasn’t on my radar to return in those three years because I’ve done 20 full Ironman’s and the thought was if my body had had enough and if it was a bit too much.
- Caroline Steffen
“Then I had the little man and when I tried to get back into training I thought I would never compete again because I was so unfit.”
Steffen’s last win came in Melbourne in 2014, but she ranked the Busselton success – in her 21st Ironman – as up there with the best.
“It’s definitely in the top five somewhere,” she said.
“I had a few really good Ironman’s in Melbourne and a couple in Europe, but that one (Busselton) was very special to me, especially to have Xander at the finish line.
“The whole journey was a big challenge and I like challenges and I tackled that one really well so I’m very proud of myself.”