NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Hugo Milner may be fairly new to the sport of triathlon, but he's already one of Britain's brightest prospects in years. In fact, he's that good he even has an outside chance of heading to Paris...

- Hugo Milner 

Twenty-five-year-old Hugo Milner from Derby was a cycling novice and had barely paddled in the sea before switching to swim, bike, run two years ago. But in keeping with his Harvard education in environmental science, he’s proved to be a fast learner

One of the best distance runners in the UK – particularly over cross country – he’s already making the triathlon world sit up and take notice. And while the Paris Olympics is arguably too soon, it’s not impossible, as Milner’s a man in form after World Cup victory in Japan last October and, more recently, success at the Europe Triathlon Cup in Quarteira.

Just before his late-March victory in Portugal and having just returned from his first overseas training camp, Milner told 220 about his hopes for the future and how his skills are improving with every race.

220: What first brought you to tri?

HM: A number of reasons, but the biggest one was being inspired by the Brownlees. During lockdown I got into cycling, and when the pools were closed I realised I missed swimming, and I just thought I’d try to combine all three. I also remember watching Super League [now supertri] and seeing the onscreen data for how fast they swam and ran, and the power on the bike. I thought I’d give it a go, but I was a bit naive at the start and realised it would take time to improve.

220: You have a varied sporting background, but how close did you come to becoming a pro footballer?