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ST Paul's High School student Teneah Carey qualified for the 2014 Triathlon World Championships in Canada, but has been forced to withdraw due to injury.
The 17-year-old Balmoral resident is still recovering from a grade-two tear in her transverse muscle (between the ribs and hips).
Teneah said she probably could have competed with the injury, but it would have restricted her performance and risked further damage.
"I had to decide whether or not to go this year and only be able to give 80 per cent, or go next year when I'm better prepared," Teneah said.
Despite the injury, Teneah remains upbeat, taking comfort in the knowledge that she qualified for the sprint event.
The sprint is the shortest of the triathlon events and involves a 750-metre swim, 20 -kilometre bike ride and 5km run.
"Swimming has always been the strongest [leg] for me, but last season I really started getting some strength on the bike," Teneah said.
She competed in her first race when she was five years old.
"I've been doing it for as long as I can remember," she laughed.
"Everyone is involved in it in our family."
She has been training seriously for about six years, and currently trains with the Training Smart Online squad, alongside fellow Lake Macquarie triathletes Holly and Raea Khan.
The injury might be a blessing in disguise for Teneah, who said she is looking to step up from the sprint to the half ironman event.
Sitting out of the World Championships will give her more time to recover and refocus her training on the longer event.
Her next goal is to win the Olympic-distance national championship in Wollongong next March.