Triathlete vows to complete Ironman after assault
At a glance
Triathlete Katie Good was pushed off her bike by a man in a moving car
She was training for the Kona Ironman event in Hawaii
Ms Good has vowed to complete the Ironman despite her injuries
- Published
A triathlete has vowed to complete an Ironman despite being injured when she was pushed off her bike during preparations for the event.
Katie Good said she was training for this year's Kona Ironman in Hawaii, one of the world's most competitive triathlons, when a man - who was a passenger in a moving car - pushed her off her bike in Edenbridge, Kent, on Saturday.
The 32-year-old suffered a broken collarbone, but says she is determined to make the start line in September.
Kent Police are investigating the incident.
Ms Good said a man leant out of a car, pushed her off her bike and screamed abuse at her as she lay in a ditch.
“I was cycling by myself on a very quiet country road and all of a sudden, I felt this massive shove. Then suddenly, I was going over my handlebars and in a ditch,” she said.
“I immediately stood up because I panicked and thought, ‘they're going to come and grab my bike or hurt me again’.
“But as I stood up, two guys were outside of the window laughing and swearing at me as they drove off.”
Ms Good, from Lewisham, south-east London, was taken to Edenbridge and District War Memorial Hospital before being transferred to Tunbridge Wells Hospital for x-rays, where it was revealed she had a broken collarbone.
She said, despite the injury, she was aiming to compete in the race in October.
“I was so excited about it. As soon as I came off my bike and called my boyfriend, I was like, ‘I don't know what this means for Kona’ and he said, ‘you'll get there. You can do it’. So I'm just determined to be there,” she said.
“I've booked my flight. So everything's ready to go. I just hopefully got to get back on my bike and hopefully get training as soon as possible.”
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Ms Good, who usually trains for up to 15 hours per week, will be able to resume cycling in 10 days, running in the next month and swimming in the next six to eight weeks.
“I'm a little bit nervous about cycling back on the roads, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it,” she said.
“I know I can do it, but I want to be competitive. I don't just want to complete it – I want to do the best I can in the race, because I think I can do well even with this injury.”
Kent Police are also appealing for witnesses to the incident in Marsh Green Road, which happened at about 11:15 BST on 22 July.
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