Moffatt secures Beijing berth

Last week triathlete Emma Moffatt finally received the call she had been looking forward to for months.

The news: she was going to the 2008 Olympic Games.

An overjoyed Ms Moffatt couldn’t believe she had at last reached her dream.

“I’m so excited… I can’t get the smile off my face,” she said.

For several months, Ms Moffatt has been involved in an intense selection battle to secure one of two remaining places in the women’s Australian triathlon team, with triple World Champion Emma Snowsill securing pre-selection late last year.

A High Performance Pass holder with UQ SPORT, Moffatt’s form leading into the selection date left national selectors with little choice but to give her the nod.

World Cup victories at Edmonton in June and New Plymouth earlier this month saw her emerge as the prime candidate to book a place in Beijing.

Victorian Erin Densham secured the final women’s Olympic berth, with veteran Greg Bennett named as a provisional men’s third member dependent on Australia’s ranking as at June 8.

The newly named athletes joined their pre-selected team mates in a camp and team bonding session in Melbourne on the weekend.

While there is plenty of hard work ahead for Moffatt, one gets the feeling she’ll be smiling all the way.

“I think about the race and the closing ceremony and that gets me so excited,” she said.

“I remember watching that at Sydney and Athens and everyone looks like they’re having a ball.”

The women's triathlon event takes place in Beijing on August 18.

Media: Stephen Danckert (07 3346 7519, stephend@uqsport.uq.edu.au) or Kellie-Ann Williams (07 3345 6034, kellieannw@uqsport.uq.edu.au) at UQ SPORT