'Best moment' - Para-triathlon champion guide Pollard
"I think that is the best moment in my life so far," said Luke Pollard after guiding Great Britain's Dave Ellis to Paralympic gold in the men's PTVI triathlon.
Ellis finished over a minute ahead of the rest of the field in Paris to avenge a gutting end to the pair's race in Tokyo three years ago.
"That is definitely the best finish line I have ever had," Pollard told BBC Radio Shropshire.
"[Dave] went to his first Paralympics in 2008 and he has been waiting since then for a medal.
"To be able to share that with him was amazing."
Their journey together started in 2018, when Pollard spotted an advert by British Triathlon looking for guides for visually impaired athletes.
A year later, he moved to Loughborough to train with Ellis and they looked on course for a great result in Tokyo, before a bike chain problem caused them to abandon the race.
They felt optimistic going into Paris but the margin of their victory was unexpected.
"We just said before, if Dave has a solid race and does what he normally does, we might be able to possibly get the win, but it was going to come down to the wire," said Pollard.
"It is testament to his hard work and his performance out there, it was fantastic."
Ellis was fifth at the end of the swim and found himself in a four-way tussle for the lead after the cycle.
He ran brilliantly to break free and cross the tape one minute 26 seconds ahead of his competition.
One of the most widely shared images of their victory-clinching moment is one in which Pollard's face is covered by the tape.
The duo have the kind of relationship in which they can laugh about it afterwards.
"Yeah, cheers Dave," joked Pollard.
"I have been working with that lad every day for the last five years and he covers my face at the finish line!"
What is the guide's role in Para-triathlon?
The part played by guides such as Luke Pollard is mainly about safe navigation of the course.
The athlete and guide are tethered together by an elastic lace for the swim, before riding a tandem bike and then using a tether again for the run.
"My job is to make sure he performs to the best of his ability but also to make sure he gets round with no mishaps," Pollard explained.
"Dave can't really see much so he just feels the tension on the tether, of where I'm going.
"[There are] things that you may not fully think of if you are fully sighted like gradients in the road if they are off camber, or an empty water bottle on the floor."
Pollard also provides some helpful information and encouragement along the way.
"I'm giving him feedback, 'This is how we are going, this is what time we are on at the moment, this is where the other athletes are'.
"At the end, I might give him some encouragement, a bit of screaming!"
Pollard was an individual triathlete for 13 years before he became a guide and he has since reaped the rewards of achieving success as a two-man team.
"It is definitely the best thing I've ever done in the sport," he said.
