Hugo Milner believes he is finally back on track after an injury-hit year that stalled the momentum he had built as one of Britain’s most intriguing triathlon prospects.

The former elite runner only switched to triathlon a few years ago, but quickly climbed through the ranks – progressing from the lower tiers of the British Super Series to European Cups, World Cups and WTCS racing.

In the 2024 WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos he ran through the field and into the top 10 thanks to a 28:47 10km which was fully 30 seconds quicker than the next best – a certain Alex Yee who took the world title that day to add to his Olympic crown and was last year paced by Milner at the London Marathon.

Milner recaptured his national Cross Country title earlier this year and we caught up with him recently to hear more as he prepares for his triathlon return at the World Cup race in Haikou, China this weekend.

Run strength remains biggest weapon

And he was quick to admit that his early perception of triathlon has very much changed, telling us: “When I first started the sport I was a bit naïve in terms of what it actually took to compete at the top level.

“I just looked at it on TV and thought if I could draft on the swim and the bike and then have the fastest run, I’d be there.

“But I’ve learned over the years it’s not as easy as it looks. It takes a lot more dedication and discipline than I first thought.”

However, Milner’s long-term plan has always been clear: “For me it’s always been about improving the swim and bike to a level where I can be just as good as anyone in the field,” he explained.

“But then still have that super skill at the end where I believe my run is one of the best in the field.

“If it does come down to a run race then hopefully I’ll be near the podium – if not on the podium.”

‘The last year has been pretty horrible’

As we said at the start, that belief was reinforced by the form he showed in 2023 and 2024, which included World Cup and European Cup wins.

But the momentum quickly disappeared last year.

“It’s a shame the last year hasn’t really gone to plan,” he told us.

“The end of 2024 I really had the momentum of running fast at the end of a triathlon, especially Olympic distance.

“But then the last year has been pretty horrible. Everything’s gone wrong – injuries, illnesses, setbacks.”

Looking back, Milner believes the problems began after his metronomic pacing of Yee at the London Marathon – something he’d always wanted to do but an effort which turned out to be the longest run he had ever completed.

“I was going really well in training before that,” he said.

“But London was the furthest I’d ever run and I didn’t really change my training to prepare for it. I just relied on pure fitness to get through it.

“I think that was a mistake because that’s when I first started to get pain in my hip.”

Things worsened when he then travelled to altitude training before the issue had properly settled.

“I made a lot of mistakes last year — a lot of them self-inflicted,” he said.

“I went to altitude about a month later and just pushed too hard when I wasn’t fully recovered.

“It’s frustrating because it basically meant wasting most of last year and then dealing with the stress fracture through the winter.”

Back in good shape

The good news is that he now feels healthy again.

He had hoped to return in time to race more cross-country through the winter, but was encouraged by his performances once he did get back.

“I managed to get back in time for National Cross and the London Cross Challenge,” he said.

“I felt really strong a few weeks ago and I’ve come out to Australia in really good shape.”

For 2026, Milner is deliberately avoiding setting rigid outcome goals. Instead, his focus is on making clear progress in the swim and bike – the two disciplines he knows will ultimately determine how far he can go in triathlon.

“There’s not really any concrete goals at the minute,” he said.

“It’s more about getting back to where I was and then improving from there.

“Even if I have some bad races but show big improvements on the swim and bike, then for me this year will be good enough.”

Milner has also not ruled out returning to his running roots with some standalone races in the future – and possibly even a marathon one day.

“It’s definitely something I’ve thought about,” he said. “It would be interesting to try one at some point.”

For now, however, triathlon is the immediate priority and it starts this week as he and World U23 Champion Ollie Conway, who has been training with Milner in Australia, head the British men’s hopes in Haikou where they will be up against last week’s brilliant Lanzarote winner David Cantero.