Olympic swimming legend Adam Peaty stars for Team Ramsay on debut triathlon

Lucy Charles-Barclay and Hayden Wilde weren’t the only headline makers at the T100 London triathlon.

That pair claimed incredible – and emotional – victories in the pro races on Saturday but on Sunday more than 5,200 amateur triathletes took to Royal Victoria Dock and the streets of London.

And they included Team Ramsay, who were racing over the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

With renowned celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay unable to race due to a few stitches on his cheek and doctor’s advice, he became chief cheerleader for his team.

That comprised his wife Tana; daughter Tilly; Olympic champion and future son-in-law Adam Peaty; fellow chefs Paul Ainsworth and James Goodyear and friends Oliver Wares and Sam Martin.

Average heart rate of 182bpm

Not surprisingly Peaty excelled in the swim with a time of 19:44, which was the fifth fastest of the day.

He was 304th on the bike in 1:06:25 for the 40km and then his 10km run of 56:52 gave him an overall time of 2:34:37 which placed him 248th out of 1,625 people, an impressive display in his first triathlon.

Peaty had said beforehand that he hardly ever runs and afterwards he posted on Instagram that his average heart rate during the run was 182 beats-per-minute.

But it sounds like he’s hooked!

Speaking afterwards, Peaty said: “That was tough. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – but 100% would do it again!

“Yes, I’ve done training. Yes, I’ve done races under a minute. But I’ve never had to battle for two and a half hours. And find different strategies. I may have used 70% of my adrenaline in that first 500m of the swim.

“My chain fell off my bike, and I was like, right, I know I’ve gotta catch up time and try to average over 20 mph. I finished the bike, and my legs felt OK, but I feel a bit sore but then that whole run – that was hard – because I’ve never done a 10km race, let alone a triathlon 10km.”

And writing later on Instagram, he added: “First Triathlon down and already pumped for my next one ☑️

“Before this, I never raced for more than a few minutes, never swam open water, never raced on a bike or had ever done a 10k run with people of all paces around me. Glad I got all those ticked off today 😅

“Again, this was about supporting an incredible charity but also proving to myself that I can do endurance events, whilst being incredibly uncomfortable throughout the whole thing.

“I learned a lot about myself in those 2 and a half hours and it actually made me quite emotional being able to push through cramp/pain/dehydration for a greater cause.”

‘Family-orientated’

Congratulations to all of Team Ramsay, with the full times as follows:

Adam Peaty: Swim – 19:44. Bike – 1:06:25. Run – 56:52 – 2:34:37

Paul Ainsworth: Swim – 32:32. Bike – 1:05:36. Run – 53:34 – 2:43:14

James Goodyear: Swim – 35:58. Bike – 1:10:45. Run – 51:47 – 2:50:08

Oliver Wares: Swim – 34:31. Bike – 1:11:20. Run – 56:04 – 2:55:56

Tilly Ramsay: Swim – 27:42. Bike: 1:17:34. Run: 1:00:28 – 2:56:16

Sam Martin: Swim – 36:30. Bike – 1:15:54. Run – 59:18 – 3:02:23

Tana Ramsay: Swim – 41:08. Bike – 1:16:11. Run – 56:23 – 3:06:40

And afterwards Gordon Ramsay underlined just how much he enjoys the whole swim, bike and run experience as he said: “First of all, the T100 has to be one of the most exciting events across the sporting calendar.

“Triathlon for me is not only one of the most fast-growing, exciting sports on the planet, but it’s family-orientated. You know, my little Oscar’s here today with us as well. He’s six years of age, he’s already asking about triathlon for kids. 

“No matter what shape or size you are, you can do a triathlon. And trust me, I’m six foot two, 220 pounds, not the lightest of chefs.”