Retired swimmer, Emma-Kate Lidbury, thought her competitive sports days were well and truly behind her; that was until her boss at the newspaper where she works as a journalist thought she'd be a good contender for the Blenhiem triathlon. Three years later she was standing on the podium at the World Championships, with a Bronze medal around her neck. The up-and-coming Wiggle sponosored athlete talks to Annie Emmerson about how she caught the triathlon bug, her plans to improve on her Bronze medal and, amongst other things, the possiblity of doing an Ironman.

AE Before you became a triathlete you were a swimmer (not a bad one either!). Tell us a about your time as a swimmer and what strokes and distances did you swam?

EKL I took up competitive swimming aged 11 and to begin with it was just one of many sports and activities I was lucky enough to enjoy growing up with parents who were active and sporty themselves. However, it soon became apparent that I was more than your average club swimmer and I think my parents soon regretted it as it meant being at the pool for 5am most mornings before school.

I was predominantly a sprint freestyler, excelling at 50m and 100m freestyle at National level but also swimming medley, fly and breaststroke at regional level. I qualified for my first Nationals aged 12 and every year subsequently until aged 18, consistently finishing in the top 10 in my age group in the 50m and 100m free. Other career highlights included competing at the European and Olympic Trials, swimming for English Schools and winning a number of regional titles. I would never have entertained racing 1500m back then, which makes me laugh now. Although I didn’t realise – or appreciate it – back then, spending my formative years training as a swimmer is paying dividends now. Not only do I have a great aerobic base, but I’ve come into triathlon with a lot of experience of competing and all that it entails.

AE That's impressive, so what made you catch the triathlon bug?

EKL Back in November 2004, I was just settling into a new job at a newspaper in Oxford when my editor mentioned the Blenheim Triathlon to me. He said the paper would be sponsoring the inaugural event – due to take place at Blenheim Palace in summer 2005 – and he was keen to have a ‘face in the race’. Given that the majority of my colleagues more than fitted the bill as stereotypical hacks (20 fags a day and almost as many coffees), I guess I probably looked like the only one who stood a chance of making it round the course and not collapsing. He knew I had a background in competitive swimming so told me 'one out of three ain’t bad' and that was that. I guess triathlon just landed in my inbox and was just another feature to write at the outset. I probably didn’t realise it at the time, but it had been a few years since I had been involved with competitive sport and I was missing it. I’d grown up very accustomed to the discipline of training and racing, so getting back into it wasn’t too much of a culture shock.

AE How did that first race go?

EKL Despite the fact I only received my bike about two months before the race and it took me the best part of a month to get used to riding with clipless pedals, my first outing as a triathlete was a great success. I finished 13th in a 600-strong field having done next to no proper training and I realised that with a little bit of hard work I could maybe achieve some good results. It took me weeks to come down from the finish line high after Blenheim yet by that time I’d already signed up for another three races and had been talked into joining a club, Oxford Tri. There was also one other factor I hadn’t taken into account: the tri bug. It had bitten me good and proper. I had no idea just how addictive triathlon would be…but it is fair to say my life has never been the same since. I don’t know exactly what it is about the sport that I love, but it’s definitely got me.

AE Since then you moved up the ranks quite quickly, tell us about some of your results since your first race in Blenhiem.

EKL In 2006 I was eighth at the ITU World Championships in the 25-29 age group. At the 2007 World Championships, I managed to turn my eighth place from the previous year into a Bronze medal, I was also the fastest British woman and had the seventh fastest time overall. In 2007 I was the overall winner of the Eton Triathlon, was the winner of the Michelob Ultra London Triathlon sub-2:30 race and also captained the Oxford Tri's women's team to a Bronze medal at the National Club Relay Championships.

AE Will your main focus be standard distance racing, or do you have plans to step up a distance?

EKL At the moment, yes, my focus is standard distance racing. The ITU Age Group Worlds in Vancouver is my ‘A’ race of the season, but with it coming so early in the year I have decided to mix things up a bit and go longer in the latter half of the season. I’ve recently entered my first 70.3 and will be racing at the Antwerp Ironman 70.3 in early August, which I’m very much looking forward to.

AE Do you have any plans to do an Ironman?

EKL When I first became involved with triathlon and heard about Ironman I honestly thought the people who did it were mental, absolutely mental. I vowed I would never get involved in such a torturous and gruelling sport. However, as with most things tri-related, you get sucked in eventually, and I’m starting to think more and more about going long. At a recent training camp in Lanzarote I rode the 112-mile Ironman bike course and loved it. I loved watching the miles clock up on the bike and felt stronger throughout the ride and thought afterwards, “Hmmm... maybe I could do an Ironman”. I’ve not entered one, but I have a group of friends who are trying to convince me to do Lanzarote next year. We’ll see!

AE You're a very strong swimmer and had some fantastic results as an age group athlete, have you considered competing at elite level?

EKL I am planning to race some of the Corus Elite Series races this season to see how I fare against the elites. It will be interesting to see how close or far away I am. I think I would probably need to invest more time in my swimming to really be up in the front pack. Since becoming a triathlete, swimming is the sport which I have spent the least time on in a bid to continually improve my bike and running, but if I was to race elite full-time that would change.

AE You spent the winter training in Oz with some of the big names in triathlon, how did it go?

EKL I absolutely adored Australia, it was fantastic. It was the second time I’d been there but my first visit was as a backpacker about seven years ago. I spent the majority of the time in Noosa, which is just a tri mecca, and hooked up with the tri club there and joined the local swim squad. The facilities were absolutely awesome, the weather was brilliant and the people were terrific. It isn’t hard to see why the Aussies do so well at sport after spending a few months training with them. Joining the swim squad really kickstarted my swim training again and I was swimming with Belinda and Justin Granger, which was great. During one of the first sessions when the coach said: “OK, EK, you can lead this lane”, I thought “Jeez, I’m leading out the Grangers”, but in actual fact it was brilliant training with them. Belinda is terrific fun and had plenty of tips for 70.3 and Ironman racing. It also wasn’t uncommon to see Gordo Byrn, Grant Hackett and plenty of other big names, so leaving Noosa was extremely hard.

AE What are your strengths - apart from swimming?

EKL I’m getting stronger and stronger on the bike and my run is improving all the time. In terms of personality, I think I’m mentally quite tough and can push myself hard. As an ex-swimmer, I’m used to putting in the hours and firmly believe you get out what you put in. I have a strong work ethic and want to be the best at whatever I do.

AE And your weaknesses?

EKL I think sometimes I can push myself too hard and, if I didn’t have a coach or boyfriend telling me to rest sometimes, I could quite easily overtrain.

AE How and when did you link up with your sponsor Wiggle?

EKL After the Worlds in Hamburg last year, a lot of my tri friends were telling me I should seek out some sponsorship deals, having finished as the top female British age grouper. I heard that Wiggle was about to get heavily involved in triathlon ahead of the 2008 season so was put in touch with them. The day before I flew to Australia in late October, Wiggle confirmed they would sponsor me in 2008, so I flew off one very happy girl. They have been brilliant and it’s more than just a sponsorship deal. I’ve got to know a few of the characters at Wiggle HQ and love the way they do things. I’ve recently picked up my race bike for the season, the Focus Izalco Chrono, their top spec tri bike, and it is sublime. I’ve also been fortunate to secure sponsorship from an accountancy firm in Swindon called Morris Owen and Savills (the estate agents) in Oxford.

AE If you had a choice to race in any triathlon around the world which one would it be?

EKL There are some terrific races in America which I’d like to do such as the Escape from Alcatraz race in San Francisco and Wildflower. Then there’s also Kona which I’d love to qualify for one day. I guess it is THE race of all races. Having said that, being on the start line at the London 2012 Olympics would also be pretty special.

AE When you're not racing and training you work as a journalist, it sounds exciting, tell us more.

EKL For the past four years I’ve worked as a news reporter for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times, covering stories as varied as murder trials through to spending a week with troops in Basra, Iraq. Until triathlon came along, journalism was most definitely my passion and if I hadn’t caught the tri bug in the way I have, I’m sure I’d be working around the clock in Fleet Street right now. Instead, I’ve branched out into writing for triathlon magazines and regularly contribute to 220, combining my two passions in life.

AE How many hours a week to you train?

EKL In an average week I wouldn’t do more than 15 hours and every fourth week I have a reduced volume week. My coach, Pete Dowling, sets me a programme each week based on what I have going on, how hectic work is, and what time of the season it is.

AE That's a fair amount of training, how do you manage to combine training with work?

EKL I’ve always been a well-organised person so I think you become used to managing your time well. I now only work at the paper two days a week and do more work from home which is great for training. I tend to swim first thing in the morning and run at lunchtime if I’m at work or do a bike or gym session in the evening.

AE What are your aims for 2008 and beyond?

EKL This year I would like to improve on my result from last year’s Worlds in Hamburg and also race well on the domestic scene. I’d also like to make a strong step-up to 70.3 racing. As for beyond 2008, I guess I’ll have to see how this season goes before making any decisions.

AE If you weren't doing triathlon which other sport would you choose?

EKL I took part in pretty much every sport imaginable as a kid before swimming took over, but my first loves were probably basketball and volleyball, although it would have been great to have been a top-flight tennis player.

AE What's your best moment in triathlon so far?

EKL My best and worst moment probably came within moments of each other at Hamburg last year. With about 2k to go I knew I was in gold medal winning position, but a few strides later I was overtaken and had nothing left to go with the girl who went on to win it. I was holding on and holding on, running to the line for silver when, with about two metres to go, an Aussie girl pipped me to the finish line and I had to settle for bronze. To begin with I was gutted but then had to remind myself that I’d still won a medal at the Worlds, which two years ago I would have thought crazy. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that last 2k: the crowds were amazing, I was in more physical pain than ever before, but I knew I was moments from finishing a great race and a medal would be mine, regardless of its colour.

AE And lastly, who's your sporting hero?

EKL One of my earliest sporting memories is of Adrian Moorhouse winning the 100m breaststroke at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 (I was eight years old). I can distinctly remember watching him closing down the gap on the leading swimmers and snatching victory by one one hundredth of a second. The photo of him - arms stretched up to the sky, fists clenched, eyes closed, grinning - as he realises he has won Olympic gold is one of my all-time favourite images and is ingrained in my mind. To me, his face says it all in that picture: if you work hard, you will eventually reap your rewards. A few years later as a teenager, I was invited to take part in a British Swimming development training camp and Mr Moorhouse was there and I can remember being incredibly nervous. I still think he’s a legend, 20 years on!