Search
shop

Can IRONMAN World Champ Lucy Charles-Barclay also land BBC Sports Personality of the Year award?

Her incredible Kona win continues to generate plenty of deserved mainstream media coverage.
News Director
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

Lucy Charles-Barclay is given a better chance by the bookmakers than England men’s football captain Harry Kane of winning this year’s BBC Sports Personality Award.

Lucy won the IRONMAN World Championship in stunning style in Kona last month after four successive second places there.

Against arguably the strongest full-distance female field to have ever lined up in Hawaii she led from the gun as she bossed the swim, bike and run to set a new course record.

‘Shoo-in for a nomination’?

Plenty of praise and publicity has followed and she appeared on Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’ last weekend, with presenter Tim Lovejoy mentioning the end-of-year BBC award.

https://twitter.com/protriorg/status/1719791103363215787

“Are you up for Sports Personality of the Year, surely you must be? You’ve got to be a shoo-in for that?” he asked.

To which LCB replied: “It would be amazing. Triathlon is quite a niche sport. Most people know it with the Olympic distance. My race in Kona was four times the distance of that. So to get people committed to watch me to race for eight hours is quite hard. But that would be amazing if I did get nominated.”

Perhaps illustrating the current mainstream profile of long-distance triathlon, Charles-Barclay wasn’t in any bookmaker lists for the SPOTY award but we’ve contacted Skybet and they have now added her at 125/1. That’s ahead of Kane, who has made such a strong start to the season since his move to Bayern Munich, at 150/1.

But they are both well down the list in a market which is dominated by Lioness’ goalkeeper Mary Earps and cricketer Stuart Broad.

Triathlon’s only previous appearance on the SPOTY podium came in 2016 when Alistair Brownlee was runner-up after successfully defending his Olympic title in Rio – and helping brother Jonny make it to the finish line in Cozumel.

However other sports have gone from niche to mainstream in recent times – most notably cycling, which didn’t have anyone in the top three for over 40 years until Sir Chris Hoy won the award in 2008 and he was quickly followed by Mark Cavendish, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas.

Moving in the right direction

And the SPOTY award has changed markedly for the better in the last decade or so after a low point in 2011 when not a single woman was named on the 10-person shortlist.

That was part of the reason that led triathlon legend Chrissie Wellington, who became the first Briton to win in Kona (Charles-Barclay was the third), to boycott that year’s awards.

She had won a fourth IMWC title just before and said on Twitter: “No women in @bbcspoty top ten. It’s not about me, it’s about the need to celebrate achievements of so many female GBR athletes. Disgraceful.”

But the gender parity that triathlon is rightly so proud of has been more in evidence at the awards in recent years, though there wasn’t a female winner from that point until 2021 when the public voted for US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu and last year when England football star Beth Mead came out on top after leading her country to Euro 2022 glory and winning the Golden Boot.

Charles-Barclay, who has been named as the PTO’s Athlete of the Month for October, also indicated in the ‘Sunday Brunch’ interview that middle rather than long distance will now be her immediate focus.

She said: “Now in triathlon there’s a new and really exciting series from the PTO, which is the Professional Triathletes Organisation, that race lasts for just about three hours and is the 100km distance. So it would be fun to watch and I think people could tune in for that long and it’s really exciting.

“They want to make it like the F1 of triathlons so that the top 15 athletes will race multiple times a year and there’ll be a World Champion crowned at the end of the year. So that will be my goal going forward.”

Jonathan Turner
Written by
Jonathan Turner
Jonathan Turner is News Director for both TRI247 and RUN247, and is accustomed to big-name interviews, breaking news stories and providing unrivalled coverage for endurance sports.  
Discover more
Caroline Pohle Lena Meissner ironman 703 jonkoping sprint 2025
PremiumTriathlon’s mid-season report card: Tim Don on who’s raising the bar this triathlon race season
TRI-FIT VANGUARD tri suit review
The entry-level tri suit with a serious amount of performance for the price point – TRI-FIT VANGUARD review
Hayden Wilde bike supertri Boston 2024 photo credit supertri
Premium10 ways to make your road bike faster and more aero for triathlons
Kristian Blummenfelt photo credit: PTO Canadian Open
PremiumIs your gut health impacting your performance? The untapped potential of good gut health for triathletes
Laura Philipp and Kat Matthews on the run at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship
PremiumHas triathlon reached peak performance? Tri experts and legends on how much faster triathletes could get
latest News
Triathlon superstar Hayden Wilde to make shock comeback at London T100
Lionel Sanders wins 70.3 St George 2025 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
‘Intimidating’ to go into Worlds after four months off – but Lionel Sanders up for the challenge
Georgia Taylor-Brown Alex Yee Super League Triathlon Malibu 2021
Triathlon’s most decorated Olympic duo now honoured by their former University
Olav Aleksander Bu Photo credit: Roj Ferman | Surpas
Top triathlon coach Olav Aleksander Bu says it’s all about the team after Uno-X bag first Tour de France win
Danielle Lewis (USA) takes the win in Lake Placid.
IRONMAN Lake Placid 2025: Date, start time, how to watch and who’s racing
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

TRI247-LOGO_Primary-Black_RGB-1

CHOOSE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO BECOME PART OF SOMETHING EPIC

We’re on a mission to elevate the world of endurance sport, becoming your go-to resource for expert training tips and inspiration, unbiased reporting and creating a platform for grassroots voices. But we can’t do it without you on board! Choose a TRI247+ membership option below and become part of something epic.

£7.95/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

100+ new articles/month

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

£47.95/year
£95.40/year

50% Discount

100+ new articles/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

Share to...