This time last year, the chances of Gateshead's T Kate Waugh representing Team GB at the Olympic Games in Paris looked a long shot. Waugh was an outstanding prospect; having started the sport aged eight she'd just become the U23 world champion in Abu Dhabi. The problem was that with the greatest depth of talent anywhere in the world, there seemed to be just too many British women in the queue ahead of her for 2024. But after breakthrough performances this summer, Waugh has put herself firmly in contention for one of the two remaining individual spots.
Seventh in the Paris Test Event was followed by a career-high second place at the World Triathlon Grand Final, ending the series ranked sixth, before taking the ultra-competitive Super League crown in October. It's been a standout run, but the 24-year-old is also no overnight success...
220: How did you get introduced to triathlon?
Kate Waugh: My dad and granddad were super into cycling so I’ve grown up around bikes, I had swimming lessons and was part of a local run club. I also did gymnastics and it was there I saw a local triathlon advertised. I was only seven or eight so we didn’t swim more than about 100m, the bike was less than 1km and the run was about 4-500m. I don’t think I did very well, but I was completely hooked.
220: What would you say are your strengths in the sport?
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How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
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With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
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With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
