Numbness, Jellyfish bite: Here is how Mansi won National Games triathlon gold

Goa: Usually, athletes rush to the podium after winning an event, but that was not the case in the Women's Triathlon at the National Games 2023 on Sunday.

Gold medal winner Mansi Mohite collapsed after completing the race and had to be taken to the hospital.

“It is a special gold medal as last time I had finished second in Gujarat. I worked very hard for the last 12 months to change the colour of my medal this time," Mansi told The Bridge on the sidelines of the Games.

The 21-year-old finished with an aggregate time of 1:14.06s as her compatriot Sanjana Joshi won the silver medal as Pragnya Mohan of Gujarat was disqualified for taking external help to set up her broken cycle pedal.

Triathlon consists of three events- running, swimming, and cycling.

The reason why Mansi was taken to the hospital was a jellyfish bite in the swimming leg of her event. Hence, she was completely numb going into the second stage which consisted of cycling.

The swimmers normally use a certain oil to keep the jellyfish away. Mansi had also covered her entire body with the oil but had left out her ankle as it was taped following an injury during the Modern Pentathlon competition.

"I think around the last 100m in the swimming leg, the jellyfish bit me. I started feeling numbness when I changed my costume for the cycling leg. Since I was in lead, I told myself to try and finish the race," said Mansi.

In the final leg of running, Mansi was struggling as she reached the Miramar beach to finish the race. It was her mother who kept egging her to push for the finish despite the pain.

With a lead of over 300m and chasing the defending champion Pragnya Mohan, Mansi completed the race and collapsed immediately.

"I started as a swimmer but then my coach Balaji Kendra asked me to try for the Triathlon. Everyone was impressed by my stamina and wanted me to train for the triathlon. That is the major reason behind me switching from water polo and swimming," said Mansi.

Discharged from the hospital after being kept under observation for a couple of hours, Mansi is looking for a day of rest before she goes back to try and win the mixed relay to cap off her National Games campaign.

This was Mansi’s fourth gold medal at this National Games. She had completed a hat-trick of medals in Modern Pentathlon, winning the Biathle women, Biathle team, and Biathle mixed relay last week.