Commonwealth hangover hampers Sheldon’s European push

Hamilton hero Grant Sheldon admits the emotional hangover from the Commonwealth Games scuppered his bid for a medal at the European Championships. The Scottish triathlete, 27, came home 15th out of the 57 athletes who finished in Saturday’s men’s race at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Park.

Ad Sheldon grabbed a pair of fifth-place finishes in Birmingham this summer in both the individual event and alongside Cameron Main, Sophia Green and Beth Potter in the mixed relay. TriathlonStanford claims shock silver at Munich's European ChampionshipsAN HOUR AGO England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand proved too hot for the in-form quartet to handle while in the men’s race, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde’s brutal pace at the front of the field hampered Sheldon’s podium hopes.

The Scot admits he’s still yet to fully recover from those West Midlands exploits and the multi-sport nature of these European Championships – eight other sports are featuring in Munich alongside triathlon – got the better of him. Sheldon, who finished around two minutes behind a resurgent French one-two-three, said: «It has been a rollercoaster train.

»I’ve come down from that high point and been trying and prepare for another event that feels massive with all the different sports. «Physically I felt alright – it was just tough emotionally to come back down from that and then back up again for this race.

»The Commonwealths were amazing and the support on that course was outstanding." For the second edition in 2022, the multi-sports European Championship brings together the existing championships of the continent’s leading sports into one event that elevates the champions of Europe. Rowing kicked off the 11-day German bonanza on Thursday morning,