After a successful freshman campaign with the Denver Pioneers women's triathlon team that included three podiums and a top-10 finish at the national championship last fall, Freya McKinley turned her attention to representing the United States at the 2022 World Triathlon Junior Championship.
 
"Ever since the end of last season in November, it had been my sole focus to make the U.S. team," McKinley told DenverPioneers.com. "I had been offered a spot to race last year in Portugal at the world championships, but I wasn't unable to attend due to race conflicts with Collegiate National Championships the following weekend. Because of this, I knew my priority was getting a spot for my final year in the junior division. To be able to make this team as a freshman on an NCAA Division-I triathlon team would be huge, and I knew how much it would mean for DU."
 
McKinley found out earlier this month that that goal she had set for herself at the end of the 2021 collegiate campaign had been accomplished, as she'll compete for Team USA this weekend as part of the World Triathlon Championship Series festivities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
 
Already one of top junior triathletes in the country, McKinley had a good shot of making the team based on her result at the East Coast Triathlon Festival on May 1, but she didn't find out officially that she made the U.S.'s roster until her parents happened to check the race's start list online while waiting for an announcement from the USA Triathlon Development Program and World Triathlon.
 
"I hadn't originally been added to the start list, but when my mom went on to have another look, my name actually popped up on the screen," McKinley recalled. "We couldn't believe it and had to refresh the screen to make sure that what we were seeing was real. I was just so pleased to know that my hard work had paid off, and I was going to get the opportunity to compete at Worlds for the first time."
 
The U.S. squad for the Junior World Championship was supposed to be decided at the Junior North American Championship in Sarasota, Florida, on March 12, but weather shortened the race and ultimately made the East Coast Triathlon Festival in Richmond, Virginia, the determining event that would decide the American junior roster for Montreal.
 
McKinley finished fourth in the junior development race in Richmond by posting an overall time of 1:00:17, just missing an automatic qualifier for the Junior Worlds but also giving herself a prime position on the United States' start list if the country was given an extra spot from World Triathlon. The U.S. ultimately did get that extra spot, and McKinley secured her first national team appearance.
 
"Ever since I found out what the qualification criteria were for the junior world championships team, my entire focus became set on performing at Richmond, Virginia," McKinley said. "I knew I had to have a solid race and finish in the top four to give myself a possibility of being chosen for the team."


 
McKinley's strengths following last season was on the bike and in runs, as the last two legs were often the ones that helped put herself into position for podiums at the end of races. Improving her swimming was a priority of hers over the winter and spring, and it paid off in Richmond as she was top 10 out of the water and roughly 30 seconds behind the lead pack
 
Tenth after the 750-meter swim in Richmond, she moved her way up to fifth place after clocking in at 30:27 from the 12-mile bike. Her final kick was an 18:18 performance in the 5K run, the third-fastest in the 62-athlete field and enough to secure a spot in the top four.
 
"The training Barb [Perkins] had done with me prior to the race allowed me to have my best-ever swim in a draft-legal to date. Up until this point I had never come out of the water top 10, and to come out so far up really helped me get in position to have a strong performance," McKinley said. "I did get unlucky with how the bike packs formed and got stuck in the chase pack behind four girls who had broken away, but I was able to have a really strong run to get myself up to fourth place. I was incredibly pleased with my performance as there was nothing else I could have done to get higher than that."
 
McKinley had a standout freshman campaign for the Pioneers last fall. After winning the Oktoberfest Sprint in Longmont, Colorado, on Sept. 19, she finished second in the Eastern National Qualifier at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, on Oct. 16 before placing third at the Western National Qualifier in St. George, Utah, on Oct. 30. At the national championships on Nov. 13 in Tempe, Arizona, she earned second-team All-American honors with a ninth-place result.
 
Overall, McKinley's performance throughout 2021 helped her be named the USA Triathlon Age Group Athlete of the Year honorable mention, while as a team the Pioneers finished fourth in their first NCAA division-I championship race.
 
"Coming in as a freshman on a new team, I really didn't know what to expect but was eager to get out there and represent the Pioneers for the first time," McKinley said when reflecting on her first collegiate season. "I had come off some strong performances in my junior elite series but didn't know how I would fare in the collegiate circuit.
 
"With the training from coach Barb, as well as the belief and support she showed me in training and at races, I performed better than I could have imagined against such incredible athletes. I was not only able to maintain my fitness but was also able to improve it during the fall season. I was incredibly fortunate to have such a successful season as a freshman, and overall I couldn't have asked for a better first year representing Denver. The team was incredible, and I really believe we outperformed everyone's expectations for our first season."
 
The women's junior sprint world championship, McKinley's race, will kick off the weekend festivities in Montreal on Friday at 6 a.m. MT. More races will be conducted on Friday and Saturday before the junior/under-23 and elite mixed team relays concludes the world championship event on Sunday. McKinley's performance in Friday's race will likely determine if she makes the U.S. team for the junior mixed relay on Sunday (12 p.m. MT start).
 
The venue for the weekend is the Le Grand Quai at the Port of Montreal, which includes a 750-meter swim in the St. Lawrence River followed by a 19.3-kilometer bike (12 miles) and a 5K run (3.1 miles) around the port's vicinity.
 
Racing in a foreign country and in a culturally-diverse place like Montreal is one aspect of the weekend that McKinley is looking forward to.
 
"This will be my first time racing internationally, and I can't wait to experience racing with girls from other cultures and parts of the world," she said. "Hearing all the different languages will be a totally new experience to me, and I am super interested to see how different the dynamics between the girls are during the race."
 
Another part of her time in Quebec that she is looking forward to is racing against Clara Normand, an incoming transfer-student on DU's team next season that is from nearby Coteau-du-lac and is representing her native Canada at the Junior World Championship.
 
"I can't wait to see my future teammate Clara Normand while I'm there," said McKinley. "She is racing for Canada and is going to give me a little tour of the city, which I am looking forward to.
 
"Overall, I just want to soak in the experience and making the most of the time I have while I'm there."
 

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