Triathlon: France's Beaugrand throws up, then turns up to take gold

PARIS: France's Cassandre Beaugrand gave some insight into the suffocating pressure that comes with being a home favourite at the Olympics when, racked by nerves, she threw up at the start of the women's triathlon on Wednesday.

Less than two hours later, however, she reaped the benefits in spectacular style, surfing the wave of popular support rolling off the streets of Paris to surge clear on the run and win the country's first medal in the sport.

Beaugrand had been in a breakaway pack of four on the 10km run leg, alongside compatriot Emma Lombardi, British world champion Beth Potter and Switzerland's Julie Derron.

She looked comfortable and relaxed as she strode through the finish zone on the first three laps and then made her move on the final lap to come home well clear.

Beaugrand grabbed the finish tape, kissed it and collapsed to the ground. Derron chased her home for silver with Potter taking bronze, leaving Lombardi in the worst position of all.

"I can't find the words, it's crazy what's happening to me. This morning, I would never have believed it," Beaugrand said.

"This morning, I was in total panic. I vomited before the start ... It was nerves, it’s never happened to me before, and in front of the other athletes. Everyone knew I was stressed. It’s not what you want to do.

"I didn't want to do the same as Tokyo where I was so nervous and where I lost all my faculties."

Beaugrand failed to finish in the last Olympics, suffering a puncture on the bike leg, and had the added stress on Wednesday of finding out only at 4am that the race would go ahead after the men's event was postponed on Tuesday due to poor water quality.

"I told myself ‘Cass, you can’t go through the same thing as Tokyo again, concentrate, you’ve been