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From Niamh Lewis
BBC Sport
She took a job and gave up the sport, when British triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay failed to create the swimming squad aged 17.
The 26-year-old out of Essex is Britains greatest hope of getting another Ironman world champion.
To take that jump from the pool to Ironmans 140.6 miles of biking, swimming and running could leave some people scratching their heads.
However, as veteran triathletes know, the game has a habit of putting people in – evidenced with the Ironman new growth through the 1970s to 230 events, all from a second in Hawaii.
On that afternoon – 18 February 1978 – only 15 people took to the jellyfish-infested sea in fundamental swimwear to swim 2.4 miles, accompanied with a 112-mile bike ride along with a 26.2-mile run in Hawaiis sweltering temperatures. It had been intended as a contest between friends to choose which athletes were the fittest: bikers, alcoholics or runners.
At the Ironman World Championships of this weekend, more than 2,000 competitors will be taking part.
Among them, one time and swimmer zoo team was prohibits by Charles-Barclay, the.
After missing selection to the London 2012 games I had to make a determination on if I could carry on doing the following four years at the sport to attempt to get to another Olympics, she told BBC Sport.
I gave it a really good go, I got my best ever times in the pool and superior effects in open water, however, that I lost the love of the sport. So I pretty much gave up it together.
While working in the advertising department for Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire the triathlon bug started to bite, it was.
I knew I missed the love of hurrying I needed something new to do. It spiralled out of control by being a fun hobby to really believingIm fairly good at this.
Its not without its challenges, though.
When you race long youre going to get dark points, and things as soon as your mind wanders a little bit, Charles-Barclay clarified.
Ordinarily I get very hungry towards the end of the run. I simply dream about the meals Im going to eat. Its generally a pizza.
But after the race Ill dictate all that food then I feel sick so I cant eat it anyway. Reece usually ends it up
Reece is Reece Barclay – her husband, trainer, coaching partner, and expert athlete in his own right. The couple were itching for a new challenge. Collectively , they signed up to an Ironman at 2014.
Two decades after Charles-Barclay applied for her professional licence and won the 20-24 age-group of the women at the World Championships.
Reece and I were hooked on the training and discovered just how big a struggle it was for what wed signed up for. It moved from a struggle to being our professional careers. We didnt expect that.
It is not simple to receive a expert licence . In the UK, the need will be to be within 8% of the winners period – which means making up the step from rushing to specialist. Charles-Barclays application was rejected on the very first attempt.
The races I was using to try and get my expert licence were the World Championships, she explained. The professional winner was such a high standard that a lot of the pro women werent within 8 percent either, so I basically got the licence to a trial basis.
However, the trial basis allowed Charles-Barclay to challenge and instantly. She was beaten by Switzerlands four-time world champion Daniela Ryf in her Ironman World Championships debut in Hawaii in 2017.
Could she mirror the other triathletes abrupt and explosive arrival on the scene?
Chrissie Wellington has been an unknown force who came to win the World Championship in 2007. Accumulate three names and she moved on to control the sport.
In 2017 – her inaugural year as a professional – Charles-Barclay combined her Ryf at Red Bulls group of top athletes. As her profile climbed – she now has more than 250,000 Instagram followers – thus did the competition.
In the World Championships that year, Charles-Barclay ended a mere eight minutes from your favorite – when the race one of professionals takes approximately nine hours which is not long.
However, it was the year when the heat was turned up by the pair. They began breaking records that were 19-year-old and removed from the start line.
They broke the course record, Charles-Barclay struck the womens swim course record, and Ryf took the bike path record.
It was Ryf who was to collect the name despite almost retiring from the race due to a jellyfish sting – she became the fastest woman in an official Ironman occasion, by 17 minutes.
Certainly my main rival is Daniela Ryf, Charles-Barclay stated. Every year I believe Im edging that little closer and people are appreciating the rivalry since they are seeing that the gaps get smaller and smaller.
I hope this year that we have an even closer battle and hopefully Ill come out at the top.
This calendar year, Charles-Barclay was unbeaten across four races before a five-minute drafting penalty at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships at September saw her slip from first to fifth.
Her highlight was winning Challenge Roth, the world triathlon event that takes place from Roths German city every summer.
Last year I came second by nine seconds so that it was such a major goal of mine to have that win, she said.
She also became a one time winner of the Ironman African Championships, winner of Challenge Samorin, along with her very first home race in Ironman 70.3 Stafford.
As far as sporting history that is wealthy goes, triathlon is youthful but not without prestige.
Racing around theBig Island in Hawaii is the best achievement in the game that is triple-disciplined as competitors must be eligible for a slot in their category at an Ironman-branded occasion in order to race there, in the birthplace of triathlon.
Its where a Honolulu-based Navy bunch, John Collins and Judy suggested combining three demanding endurance races to a single event.
The battle turned into heads along with the idea caught on all over the world. The occasion grew year on year, and Hawaii soon became the host of this gruelling World Championships with unforgivable winds and its sweltering terms.
The race has always had female participants – the most successful is Paula Newby-Fraser, with eight world titles, 2 more than just sculpting legends Mark Allen and Dave Scott.
And as the openings between Charles-Barclay and Ryf decrease, so do the gaps between womens and mens finishing times, which now stand at approximately 30 minutes.
Charles-Barclay said:I have been in this sport for approximately five years now and in the years that the quality of womens racing has just hugely enhanced.
The times that women are winning races in now is completely different to what it had been say five to ten years before, and there is a lot more women doing this game today then there was before, which is really cool to see
The sponsorship opportunities stay equal.
Charles-Barclay said:The prize money is exactly the exact same for women and men in this game, which can be great and I would say theres more chances – you do not feel like just because you are a girl youre going to be paid less or you are going to have less host opportunities.
Ive certainly never felt any kind of inequality in the sport, which is very good. There was more spots for guys in the World Championships but it is nearly even. Its very excellent to find that, and it is this kind of inclusive game
The Ironman World Championships begin at 17:25 BST on Saturday, 12 October, at Kona, Hawaii.
BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin, former GB triathlete Annie Emmerson (with the help of some special guests) mentor three novices intending to complete their initial triathlons at June 2019.
Check out the BBC Sport Live Guide for details of the forthcoming sport on the BBC.
Reviews and final standings for the 2019 World Triathlon Series.
This blend of biking, swimming and jogging is one of the toughest tests in sport – heres find a club and the way to get involved.
There was somebody out there that did do it and that could do it again
Read more here: http://socceradvantage.com/?p=24711