Search
shop

Lucy Charles reveals Olympic Games Triathlon ambitions

Could the incredibly strong Great Britain women's squad be gaining even more competition soon from a new, but familiar name? IRONMAN World Championship Silver medallist Lucy Charles may have her eyes on a new challenge
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
ALL ABOUT THE ATHLETE

“I haven’t ruled out the Tokyo Olympics”

It’s not the first time that it’s been suggested or talked about, but in a great video released this week by Zwift, Great Britain’s IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Silver medallist, Lucy Charles, has spoken about a potential switch to ITU racing in the lead up to Tokyo 2020.

“I’ve definitely thought about doing the Olympic Distance… I’m definitely still young enough to have the speed for it… I haven’t ruled out the Tokyo Olympics”

Lucy would certainly have the support of one industry veteran, Brett Sutton, the coach of Lucy’s greatest rival over the 70.3 and Ironman distance, Daniela Ryf. He is also the coach of Nicola Spirig, Olympic Gold medallist in 2012 and Silver medallist at Rio 2016:

The Olympic Games certainly has a strong attraction for Charles, who had hoped to make it to London 2012 as an Open Water Swimmer. A change of sporting direction shortly after that would prove to be triathlon’s gain.

Is it a realistic target? Well, I think we can safely say that she has swimming ability covered and would, at the very least, be a match for the likes of Jess Learmonth, Flora Duffy and Katie Zaferes who have broken away in the water on numerous instances in recent years and often not been seen again until the finish.

Cycling – some additional technical skills of the draft-legal format would surely be towards the top of her ‘needs’ list, but given the ability she has shown to be able to pick up new sports and excel in those, that shouldn’t be a stumbling block. In truth, we’ve seen World Triathlon Series race winners achieve success in recent years while looking technically awful on two wheels. Flora Duffy is arguably the bike-handling benchmark right now, but Lucy would not have to reach her heights to be successful. In 2018 Daniela Ryf has shown that she is almost certainly the strongest female cyclist we have ever seen in Middle and Long distance triathlon, and during her ITU career Daniela won on the World Triathlon Series in Seoul (2010). Lucy came off the bike with her in South Africa this year. She can ride a bike.

Overall, with the appropriate adjustment in training, I don’t see anything to suggest that she wouldn’t be capable of reaching T2 with the leaders at WTS/World Cup level in relatively short time.

Running – as we know, you need to have run speed to reach the top in ITU racing and that might, at first glance, appear to be the biggest obstacle. However, check out Lucy’s progress over 5km over the last five years, all on the same Gunpowder parkrun course.

  • 2014 – 19:33
  • 2015 – 19:02
  • 2016 – 18:07
  • 2017 – 17:54
  • 2018 – 16:46

What’s interesting to note is that this progress has been achieved while focussed on – and improving ever year – at Middle and Long Distance triathlon. Her best 16:46 5km time was achieved one week before the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. That time would suggest that her current 10km time – run only – would be circa 35 minutes, arguably a little quicker than that given that the parkrun course is held on gravel tracks. That’s a very solid starting position for a just turned 25 year-old who has shown consistent year-on-year improvement – who doesn’t have a decade plus of running pedigree either.

The biggest obstacle to Lucy’s potential thoughts of serious ITU racing may well be the strength-in-depth of the current GB squad. With Vicky Holland, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jessica Learmonth, Jodie Stimpson, Non Stanford and Sophie Coldwell currently leading the way and with others not far behind, simply getting race experience and access to top level racing could be difficult. Olympic selection begins in 2019 and competition for places to gain access to those selection races will be intense.

If Lucy is serious, the best thing she can do is post-Kona, sit down with the British Triathlon Performance Squad management and explain her ambitions and seek guidance as to where and how she can get ‘in’ to the racing programme as a non-funded athlete. Checking out the schedule for early season ETU Triathlon European Cup races might be a wise move too…

Will we be seeing much more of Lucy Charles on her Specialized road bike rather than the Shiv Tri bike from 2019?!

Lucy Charles Polar Cannes International Triathlon 2018

#GBKona 2018 banner

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
Ironman gear guide – everything you need to get to the finish line of a full distance triathlon
What is Heart Rate Variability? How triathletes can use HRV to optimise their training
On Cloudmonster Hyper running shoes
On Cloudmonster Hyper running shoes review – worth the hype?
sports supplements for endurance athletes
Sports nutrition supplements – which supplements are actually worth taking?
Challenge Sanremo 2024 - Photo: Jose Luis Hourcade
How to fuel your triathlon training: Expert nutritionist tips to help you nail every session
latest News
Beth Potter (GBR) won the 2024 supertri E World Triathlon Championships.
British Olympic triathlon star Beth Potter SMASHES her 10k PB and goes third in national standings
Magnus Ditlev - T100 San Francisco 2024 run
IRONMAN South Africa: Magnus Ditlev and Marten Van Riel set for EPIC Pro Series clash
On Triathlon Academy Athletes March 2025
Shoe giant On launches Triathlon Academy in a bid to produce ‘next generation of champions’
Morgan Pearson Paris Test Event [Photo credit: World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo]
US Olympic triathlon star OUT of T100 debut after being injured in bike crash
Kat Matthews IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Taupo New Zealand 2024
Triathlon superstar Kat Matthews puts focus on the bike as she enlists pro cycling star to ‘bridge the gap’ in 2025
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

Share to...