Axel Zeebroek was a happy man: "I'm really pleased with my result and my performance. I did a consistent race and I was able to stay concentrated when things got tough. For example, I struggled in the last 50 kilometers on the bike. I lost time, but I was able to stay focused on my technique and frequency. I think that, because of my injuries this summer and my late qualification, I entered the race mentally and physically fit. In the end, I feel this was the right place for me today. And fifteen is good, especially when I see the big names that came in behind me."
Tine Deckers, last year twelfth in Kona, was not happy with her performance: "It all went to pieces today: I swam poorly, my stomach was upset, the penalty, my SRM device didn’t work ... Of course, when you have an off-day, everything seems to go wrong. I am pleased with the fighting spirit that I've shown today. Immediately getting sidelined for four minutes in your strongest discipline after a bad swim is mentally tough. You already know that making the top-10 is almost impossible. So I feel good about the way I fought during the run. It was the best I could do today."
Sofie Goos was disappointed: "I biked so poorly. After back pain forced me to retire from the race in the two previous years, I got too cautious. One thing made me push through: I was not going to stop for a third time. My back was fine, but of course I didn’t dig deep either. I was holding out hope that a slow bike leg would bring a fast marathon, but it did not. My run was okay though and I swam well. But this is triathlon. You can’t not show up in one discipline it and expect to be in the race. Two out of three is not enough."
