Commonwealth hangover hampers Sheldon’s European push

Hamilton hero Grant Sheldon admits the emotional hangover from the Commonwealth Games scuppered his bid for a medal at the European Championships.

The Scottish triathlete, 27, came home 15th out of the 57 athletes who finished in Saturday’s men’s race at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Park.

Sheldon grabbed a pair of fifth-place finishes in Birmingham this summer in both the individual event and alongside Cameron Main, Sophia Green and Beth Potter in the mixed relay.

England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand proved too hot for the in-form quartet to handle while in the men’s race, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde’s brutal pace at the front of the field hampered Sheldon’s podium hopes.

The Scot admits he’s still yet to fully recover from those West Midlands exploits and the multi-sport nature of these European Championships – eight other sports are featuring in Munich alongside triathlon – got the better of him.

Sheldon, who finished around two minutes behind a resurgent French one-two-three, said: "It has been a rollercoaster train.

"I’ve come down from that high point and been trying and prepare for another event that feels massive with all the different sports.

"Physically I felt alright – it was just tough emotionally to come back down from that and then back up again for this race.

"The Commonwealths were amazing and the support on that course was outstanding."

For the second edition in 2022, the multi-sports European Championship brings together the existing championships of the continent’s leading sports into one event that elevates the champions of Europe.

Rowing kicked off the 11-day German bonanza on Thursday morning, with cycling, gymnastics and sport climbing also featuring.

Athletics gets underway at Munich’s iconic Olympic Stadium on Monday while triathlon, canoe sprint, table tennis and beach volleyball enter the fray across staggered days.

Exactly 177 gold medals are on offer at the event but Sheldon was unable to grab one after a battling Saturday display.

He crossed the line in a time of 1:43:04 ahead of teammates Jack Willis, Harry Leleu and Barclay Izzard who finished 24th, 29th and 30th respectively.

But it was the French who reigned supreme as Léo Bergere, Pierre Le Corre and Dorian Coninx claimed a dominant clean sweep of the Munich podium.

Sheldon delivered a rock-solid performance and visibly sought to conserve his energy levels on the bike and run phase.

But the Scot will not compete in Sunday’s mixed relay event as compatriot Iona Miller – who finished 36th in Friday’s women’s race – gold medallist Non Stanford, Hamish Reilly and Ben Dijkstra fly the British flag.

Fans have flocked to Munich’s iconic Olympic Park of exactly 50 years ago – the reason these multi-sport Championships are being held here – en masse as the triathlon event geographically dominates the supremely-maintained grounds.

Sheldon was unable to give the travelling British contingent something to cheer and admits the gruelling running route – featuring some hilly terrain – eventually took its toll.

"I was just trying to get by as well as I could but eventually, it was a tough race," he added.

"The bike leg was flat but super fast, so it was all about just trying to stay on the wheels and not let any gaps go.

"I wanted to make it as easy as possible and likewise that run, tried to really like manage my effort, because you go out that first lap and you are going to struggle if you go too hard."

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the Germany city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website