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By Niamh Lewis
BBC Sport
When British triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay didnt produce the swimming squad aged 17, she took a job at a zoo and gave up the sport.
Now, the 26-year-old from Essex is Britains greatest hope of becoming the Ironman world champion.
To take that jump from the pool to Ironmans 140.6 miles of biking, swimming and running may leave a few people scratching their heads.
But, as veteran triathletes understand, the game has a habit of hooking people in – mediated by the Ironman new expansion during the 1970s to 230 global occasions, all from a second in Hawaii.
On that day – 18 February 1978 – just 15 people took to the jellyfish-infested sea from basic swimwear to swim 2.4 miles, accompanied with a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run in Hawaiis sweltering temperatures. It was intended as a competition between friends to decide which athletes were the fittest: runners, bikers or Trainers.
At the Ironman World Championships of this weekend, over 2,000 competitions will take part.
One of them, swimmer and one time zoo employees was prohibits by Charles-Barclay, the.
After missing choice to the London 2012 games I needed to make a decision on if I could continue doing the following four years in the sport to attempt to get to the next Olympics, she told BBC Sport.
I gave it a really good head, I received my greatest ever times in the pool and good effects in open water, however, I lost the love of this sport. So I pretty much gave it up all together.
While working in the advertising department for Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire the triathlon bug started to sting, it was.
I knew I missed the love of rushing so I wanted something new to do. It spiralled out of control from being a fun hobby to really thinkingIm pretty good with this.
It is not without its challenges.
If you race long youre always going to have dark points, and things as soon as your mind wanders a little bit, Charles-Barclay clarified.
Normally I get very hungry towards the conclusion of the run. I just dream about the foods Im going to eat later. It a pizza.
But following the race I will dictate all that food and then I feel ill so that I cant eat it anyhow. Reece usually ends up eating it.
Reece is Reece Barclay – her husband, trainer, training partner, and professional athlete in his own right. The pair have been itching for a new challenge. They signed up in 2014 to an Ironman.
Two decades after Charles-Barclay applied for her professional licence and won the 20-24 age-group of the women in the World Championships.
Reece and I were hooked on the practice and discovered how big a challenge it was to what we had signed up for. It went to being our careers. We did not anticipate that.
Its not simple to have a expert permit in triathlon. In the UK, the necessity is to be within 8 percent of their winners period – which means making the step up from hurrying that is age-group to specialist is tough. Charles-Barclays application was rejected on the first attempt.
The races I had been using to try and get my expert licence were the World Championships, she said. The expert winner was a high standard that a lot of the pro women werent within 8 percent , so I basically got the licence to a trial basis.
But the trial foundation allowed Charles-Barclay to challenge and immediately. She was beaten by Switzerlands four-time world champion Daniela Ryf on her Ironman World Championships debut in Hawaii at 2017.
Can she reflect the next triathletes abrupt and arrival on the scene?
Chrissie Wellington was an unidentified force who came to win at the World Championship in 2007. She went on to control the game and accumulate three titles.
At Red Bulls squad of professional athletes – Charles-Barclay joined her Ryf in 2017 – her year as a pro. As her profile grew – she currently has over 250,000 Instagram followers thus did the rivalry with Ryf.
At the World Championships that year, Charles-Barclay ended a eight minutes from your favourite – when the race among professionals takes about nine hours which isnt extended.
Nevertheless, it was the year once the heat turned up. They removed from the beginning line and started dividing 19-year-old records.
They broke the course record, Charles-Barclay broke the womens swim course record, also Ryf took the bike path record.
It had been Ryf who was despite nearly retiring under her arm from the race because of a jellyfish sting to collect the name she became the fastest woman in an official Ironman event, by 17 minutes.
Certainly my biggest rival is Daniela Ryf, Charles-Barclay said. Every year I believe Im edging that bit closer and individuals are appreciating the competition since they are viewing that the gaps get smaller and bigger.
I hope this year we have a much closer battle and hopefully I will come out on top.
This calendar year, Charles-Barclay was unbeaten across four races before a five-minute drafting penalty at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in September saw her slide from first to fifth.
Her highlight was winning Challenge Roth, the worlds biggest long-distance triathlon event that occurs from Roths German city each summer.
Last year I came by nine seconds therefore that it had been such a major aim of mine to have this win, she said.
She became a one time winner of the Ironman African Championships, winner of Challenge Samorin, along with her first home race at Ironman 70.3 Stafford.
So far as sporting history that is wealthy belongs, triathlon is young but not without prestige.
Racing around theBig Island in Hawaii is the best accomplishment in the game as competitors must be eligible to race for a slot within their category at an event so as , at triathlons birthplace.
It is where a Honolulu-based Navy bunch, Judy and John Collins, first suggested combining three demanding races.
The battle turned into heads along with the idea caught on around the world. The event grew year on year, and Hawaii became the host of the World Championships with its sweltering conditions and unforgivable winds.
The race has always had female participants – that the very effective is Paula Newby-Fraser, who has eight world titles, 2 more than triathlon legends Mark Allen and Dave Scott.
And since the openings between Charles-Barclay and Ryf decrease, so perform the gaps between mens and womens ending days, which stand at about half an hour.
Charles-Barclay said:I have been in this sport for around five years now and in the years the grade of womens racing has only massively improved.
The times that women are winning races now is completely different to that which it had been say five to 10 years back, and there is a lot more girls doing this sport today then there was before, which is really cool to see
The sponsorship opportunities stay equivalent.
Charles-Barclay said:The prize money is precisely the exact same for women and men in this sport, which can be great and Id say there is more chances – you do not feel like just because you are a woman you are going to be paid less or youre likely to have less sponsor opportunities.
Ive definitely never felt any sort of inequality in the game, which is good. There used to be more spots for men in the World Championships but it is even today. Its excellent to find that, and it is such an inclusive game
The Ironman World Championships start at 17:25 BST on Saturday, 12 October, in Kona, Hawaii.
BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin, former GB triathlete Annie Emmerson (with the assistance of some special guests) mentor three beginners aiming to finish their initial triathlons in June 2019.
Check out the BBC Sport Live Guide for details of All of the live game on the BBC.
Reports and final standings for the 2019 World Triathlon Series.
This mix of jogging, cycling and swimming is one of the toughest tests in sport – here is locate a local club and the way to get involved.
There was someone out there that did do it and that can do it again
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