CWG triathlon’s Eric the Eel moment: Ghanaian Pappoe crosses the finish line 46 minutes after Bermuda’s Duffy wins gold

Pappoe came home 46 minutes and 21 seconds after Duffy had pocketed the gold. She, however, had as big a smile on her face as the Bermudian.

Ghana's Mercy Jane Adorkor Pappoe.

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games’ women’s sprint triathlon race witnessed its own ‘Eric the Eel’ moment on Friday. Ghana’s Mercy Jane Adorkor Pappoe, competing in her first-ever triathlon race, was out on the course for more than 45 minutes after Bermuda’s Flora Duffy ran away with the gold medal.

Duffy, who has a hill named after her in her country, finished the race in 55 minutes and 25 seconds. On the other hand, Pappoe took 1 hour, 41 minutes, and 46 seconds to cross the finish line.

The 24-year-old, with no prior race record as per the World Triathlon website, fell behind the 32-woman field almost immediately after the start. And for large parts of the race, she was all by herself.

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Pappoe completed the first segment, the 750m swim, in 22 minutes and 41 seconds, 13.21 minutes behind the race leader. She fell further behind after the 20km bike run, which she completed in 45 minutes, and 26 seconds. By then, the time difference between her and the leader had increased to 31.24 minutes.

In fact, Pappoe began the last part of the race, the 5k run, almost 20 minutes after Duffy had won, and a little more than 13 minutes after India’s Pragnya Mohan – who finished 25th – completed her race (the other Indian, 17-year-old Sanjana Joshi, the youngest in the field, finished 28th).

Pappoe, however, wasn’t alone on the course. Keeping her company was Solomon Island’s Andriana Tukuvia.

Tukuvia, who was a lap ahead of Pappoe, gave spectators along the route high-fives when she neared the finish line, only to be reminded by race officials that she had one more lap to go to complete the race. Then, with around 100m to go in her final lap, Tukuvia once again high-fived practically everyone who had stayed back – from the security guards along the route to the race officials and spectators.

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She finally finished the race in 1:31.53, 36 minutes and 28 seconds behind the winner. That meant only Pappoe was left on the course. When she entered the final stretch and huffed her way towards the finish line, the judges, security officials, and a few spectators stood waiting for her.

Ultimately, Pappoe came home 46 minutes and 21 seconds after Duffy had pocketed the gold. She, however, had as big a smile on her face as the Bermudian.