TRI247
Search
shop
SUPERTRI E TICKETS DISCOUNT & VIP COMPETITION
SUPERTRI E TICKETS DISCOUNT & VIP COMPETITION

Working through a pandemic: Lucy Hall on the reality of PRO life

Lucy Hall on how she worked through the pandemic as a swabber for Premier League footballers and cleaning for a physio.

Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
SHOP
Watch Potter, Brownlee & Beaugrand LIVE

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 many professional triathletes were left with no source of income – Lucy Hall found herself in exactly that situation.

The 29-year-old Leeds-based star got through a difficult few months though by switching sports to football’s Premier League – as a COVID-19 swabber.

Lucy worked at Sheffield United as football tiptoed out of the sport’s enforced lockdown to complete its 2019-2020 Premier League season.

Advertisement

Working through the pandemic

“I actually went and worked as a swabber for the Premier League, for the footballers during COVID,” she explained.

“I worked for a company for six or seven months at Sheffield United. It was a good experience, it made me think that this is cool, I can do something else and triathlon is not the only thing i can do in my life.

“I’ve been around for a while and that’s all I’ve ever known. In a way, I needed to do something different to know that if triathlon didn’t / doesn’t work out, there are other things I can do.

“It’s difficult, it’s tough [life as a Pro triathlete], but I thought that I need to make some form of income – I can’t just live off Bucko (Mark Buckingham, Lucy’s partner) – I have to do something, and that’s when I got that gig.

“I was also cleaning – I was cleaning at a physio twice a week through the pandemic. It kind of gave me an idea of what I can do – I’m sacrificing a lot to do triathlon, but it also made me just really grateful that i’ve got the opportunity to do it.”

Advertisement

The reality of PRO life

‘Living the dream’ might be a phrase often used, but that is far from the reality for most professional triathletes. For middle and long-distance racers too, there is no comfort in central contracts from the National Federation either.

Lucy admitted: “When I first came off funding, they were the first few things on my mind – what am I going to do about travel insurance? What am I going to do about physio?

“It makes you think – can I do this? Can I do triathlon? Can I support myself? I didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t make a living and as with any athlete, it’s difficult when you are then living in a pandemic, there are no races and there’s not really any way of making any kind of money.

Support is key – and a PTO lifeline

“The fact that I can get coached by Bucko, and get coached by Coz, and have that support system as well, I’m super lucky to have that. It was eye opening, definitely, in the pandemic having that.

“The whole year really has helped in terms of getting people’s attention and I also think it helps that things are opening up in the world in general. Last year, I think if you’d asked somebody to sponsor you than they would most probably have said no. It didn’t make sense to sponsor an athlete when there are no races going on.

“The big thing was the PTO giving out the end-of-year bonuses when they did. That helped me so much. Things like I bought a treadmill because we could only go out once a day at one point. Just the ability to buy that, made so much difference. Having that PTO support was huge. What they are doing as well within our sport I think is just brilliant.”

Lucy is also in the running for a bonus from the Challenge Family World Bonus scheme, currently in third place with just CLASH Daytona remaining on December 4.

“It gives you something to aim for. When 70.3 Worlds came off the my schedule, it was something else to strive for towards the end of the year which really helped for my mental well-being as well, as I had something else to chase.”

Lucy Charles / The Championship
Challenge Family success for Lucy Hall at The Championship, Samorin
Photo credit: activimages
13th April 2024 - London
Watch Potter, Brownlee & Beaugrand as these triathlon superstars take on the world in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
LIMITED TICKETS - DON'T MISS OUT!
John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Kyle Smith
Watt it takes to win at supertri E – a data dive into how deep the PROs have to dig
Arena Games Triathlon Finals Singapore - Beth Potter bike
The evolution of Esports in triathlon – How supertri brought virtual racing to the mainstream
Beth Potter Arena Games Triathlon Finals Singapore
Lightning fast splits and record breaking performances – relive some of the top moments from women’s supertri E racing
Lionel Sanders Arena Games Montreal game face on bike photo credit SLT
Countdown to supertri E – a look back at some of the most epic moments in men’s triathlon E racing
Challenge Barcelona 2023 - Photo Credit: Jose Luis Hourcade
Brownlee brothers on the costly race day swim mistakes to avoid – plus their own mishaps
latest News
Lucy Charles-Barclay comes home second at the Miami T100.
Lucy Charles-Barclay ‘hungry’ for redemption at the second stop of the T100 Triathlon World Tour
Georgia Taylor-Brown WTCS Yokohama 2023 finish
World Triathlon Indoor Cup Lievin: Start time, preview, format and how to watch live
Kat Matthews PTO Tour US Open 2023
Kat Matthews shares details of race against time to recover from Miami T100 injury
Mixed Team Relay France podium WTCS Sunderland 2023 photo credit: World Triathlon / Petko Beier
World Triathlon confirm initial nine teams to qualify for Paris Olympic Games Mixed Relay
Ruth Astle St George finish line 2022 photo credit Tom Pennington Getty Images for IRONMAN
British IRONMAN Champion on committing to professional triathlon and chasing a T100 Tour wildcard
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
Invalid email address
The SBRX Group

Proudly elevating endurance sports through content, products & services

SBRX
RUN247
Share to...