It has been a difficult past 12 months for British triathlon talent Fenella Langridge and her latest result was a DNF at IRONMAN New Zealand two weeks ago.
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) world number 43 was a regular contender in full-distance racing up until the 2024 season. Last year, however, she was unable to attain the performances she was accustomed too, putting it down to fatigue.
Further issues in the off-season forced the 33-year-old to seek medical counsel as her power output, particularly on the bike and run, continued to dwindle.
Langridge’s diagnosis confirmed
Putting her symptoms down to tiredness, Langridge began preparations for the 2025 season in the Canary Islands, but continued to suffer from what were all too familiar ailments.
“We had our first [off-season] camp in Lanzarote and I had what we thought were neural sensations down my left side,” the former IRONMAN Western Australia champion explained on her YouTube channel in a video which is embedded below.
“I couldn’t run up hills without my leg almost collapsing underneath me. I was running with Kate Curran (PTO world number 34) and – she’s a phenomenal runner don’t get me wrong – she’d drop me like a sack of whatever when we did hill reps.
“The pain moved around my leg, it’s really difficult to explain, and it was only when I started to do slightly harder work where I could feel these symptoms, and it was really confusing.
“We thought it was neural, like either a muscle trapping a nerve or a sciatica type of thing, so I was doing loads of physio work, strengthening up my core to try and mitigate anything else. I was still able to train aerobically, so we carried on.
“We then went to New Zealand, but unfortunately the symptoms still didn’t go away, so we then decided to go see a sports doctor to seek a different opinion.
“They gave us the diagnosis we weren’t expecting to hear. I have been diagnosed with External Iliac Artery Endofibrosis.”
External Iliac Artery Endofibrosis
External Iliac Artery Endofibrosis (EIAE) is a rare condition that affects otherwise healthy individuals. It’s a condition that usually affects professional cyclists, but cases have been reported in other groups of endurance athletes.
Langridge explains: “In layman’s terms, it’s a hardening of the Iliac Artery, an external one, so mine’s on my left hand side. Your artery is supposed to be a nice spherical shape, whereas mine has hardened which has limited the size. That limited size means blood flow is restricted to my left hand side.
“As soon as I want to work hard and pump more blood to my legs, the oxygen and blood just can’t get there, so that’s why I am getting these lactate build-up feelings and this cramping sensation.
“We got the diagnosis before IRONMAN New Zealand. The doctor said that doing exercise is not dangerous, but there was a limit to how hard I could push.
“We changed bike positions and I had a very different approach to racing where I had heart rate caps and power caps which were 30-40 watts lower than I would normally race at, with the intention of finishing the race and qualifying for Kona.
“I raced, I couldn’t finish there, the sensations were too much, it was all too much. This period has been so stressful, getting through all of last year, then trying to get through another race – I had no more good vibes to give,” added Langridge, who is normally one of the most upbeat athletes in the sport.
Going under the knife
“The diagnosis is great news, because it does explain all of last year, and it makes me feel a little bit more normal and not like a crazy person because that’s how I felt last year, not understanding what was going on with my body but knowing something wasn’t right.
“It gives me hope that there is a chance to get back to the performance level where I would like to be instead of the negative thoughts of am I ever going to be a professional athlete again.
“I’ve reached out to one of the best surgeons who does the procedure in the UK, Professor Robert Hinchliffe. He has done multiple surgeries of Iliac Artery Endofibrosis on professional cyclists and we have booked in to see him in about a month.
“So I will be going under the knife and getting surgery.”
All of us at TRI247 wish Fenella all the best in the coming weeks and hope it’s not too long before we see her back in top form. And you can watch the video in full below.
Racing to keep up: Is social media making us train harder?
