Thornlie resident Trigg Faulkner crashed his bike the day before he was due to represent the state.
Trigg was selected by the School Sport WA to be part of the Western Australian Triathlon team.
The 14-year-old Mazenod College student did not allow his accident to stop him from competing in New South Wales last month.
Trigg said his it was rush to get his wounds dressed, bike repaired and helmet replaced.
“I had skin off on my right hand side and damaged wheels and tyres,” he said.
“I also had a crack in my helmet but Panther Cycles in Penrith patched me up and repaired my bike for the cost of parts only and no labour cost.”
Trigg said despite being sore in his shoulder and hip he was ready to compete.
He said he did really well in the championship finishing in 18th place out of the 32 athletes who competed from all across Australia.
“My race went to plan,” he said.
“I gave it everything.”
Trigg said his first challenge was being selected to represent WA, which was done by earning points from three qualifying races.
“The competition was really strong as everyone was trying to gain selection,” he said.
“The second challenge I faced was combating my nerves.
“I was really nervous before the state of the race because I was thinking that these are the best triathletes from the entire country and most were much bigger than me.
“I knew that I had earned my spot and was very proud that I could match it with the other athletes.”
Trigg said his first triathlon was the Weet-Bix Triathlon a few years ago.
“After that I was hooked,” he said.
Trigg has been competing for the past two years and trains six to eight times a week.
He said he raced every two to three weeks during triathlon season, which starts in November and ends in April.
“During the off season training continues but I will race some road cycling races and running races to get ready for the start of next season,” he said.
“I am on three weeks off training now and start again next Monday and I am really keen and ready to start training again.
“I have sent my coach Paul Jones a list of times that I will try to achieve before the start of next season.
“It will take a lot of effort but I am really proud to have represented the state and want to do it again.”
Trigg said it was a great experience to travel with the team.
“I celebrated my 14th birthday on the first day of the trip,” he said.
“The team had a cake for me and everyone sang happy birthday.
“It was fun.”
