Tri Talking Sport

Youri Keulen is a 25 year old professional triathlete from The Netherlands.  The eldest of triplets, he has been paving a path in sport from a young age, first as a footballer, then as a runner, where he claimed victory as a three-time national 800m champion in his teens.  

Picked up by a triathlon talent ID programme in the Netherlands on the back of his running and biking ability, his dream of becoming an Olympian never materialised and shortly after Tokyo 2020 he parted ways with the Dutch National team. 

Switching distances to take on his first middle distance race at IM 70.3 Maastricht in 2021 he was the fastest overall age grouper on the day, a few weeks later he made his pro debut at Challenge Peguera Mallorca and came fifth.  Since then he has gone from strength to strength with some stand out performances including; Winning IM 70.3 Rapperswil -Jona in 2022. He finished in 6th place at last year's IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and  followed that up with a win at Challenge Peguera Mallorca and Challenge Barcelona.  Earlier this year he came fourth at the T100 in Miami before a stellar performance saw him break the tape to win the Singapore T100 which changed the game for the young athlete and catapulted him into the triathlon spotlight globally. 

Youri shares insight into his life as a professional athlete, the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have the same vision and drive for you as you have for yourself, and also what his plans and aspirations are not only to the end of 2024, but beyond the next few months. 

A wise mind on young shoulders, Youri is excited about his future in the sport and is committed to being not only the best athlete he can be, but also the best triathlete in the world, whilst also hoping that his sporting endeavours will inspire future generations of young athletes at home and abroad.

With a special connection to Ireland, through his girlfriend, former professional cyclist Imogen Cotter, Youri loves coming to Ireland and indeed loves the game of hurling, especially when Clare win.

Irish Professional cyclist Fiona Mangan from Limerick has been blazing a trail on two wheels since switching her focus to cycling in 2020.  The Biomedical Engineer was recently crowned both the 2024 Cycling Ireland Time Trial and Road Race Champion in front of a home crowd in Limerick in June of this year, adding to her already impressive CV of cycling results. 

A successful gaelic footballer from a young age, she took up triathlon during her college years when she went to Atlanta on a one year student exchange. It wasn't until the pandemic struck that a real passion for cycling was ignited and from there she has excelled in the sport at home and abroad. From National Road Series winner in 2021 to becoming the first Irish woman to complete one of cycling's Grand Tours – La Vuelta Femenina in 2023, Fiona has truly embraced life as a professional cyclist. 

Using Girona as her base she travels and races with her team Cynisca Cycling and when the opportunity arises and time permits she loves to come back home to Limerick to spend time with her family and friends. Still relatively new to professional cycling Fiona continues to go from strength to strength and has her sights firmly set on success in the sport, and with her French heritage it is no surprise that the Tour De France is on her bucket list!

Last weekend a team of four riders from Galway Bay Cycling Club were crowned this year's Mondello24 Cycle four person team Champions securing a new course record in the process. The team comprising of; Cathal Dillane, Ronan Burke, Liam Kilkenny and Kirill Korliakov embarked on their 24 hour cycle on the International Racing track in Kildare on Saturday at 12 midday.  A team with a diverse mix of cycling experience across a variety of disciplines, they had no experience of endurance racing, but that was all about to change.

Cathal is the most experienced road cyclist of the four, cycling for over three decades with multiple race and stage wins under his belt and a Man of the Rás, this was his first time experimenting with an event of this nature. Ronan, an avid competitive road racer in recent years and Rás rider last year, had never ventured into the world of endurance cycling. Liam, a former competitive swimmer and Kirill are both fans and participants of multiple disciplines of cycling, however they were also completely new to this format of team and endurance racing which was both exciting and daunting in equal measures. 

Embracing the unknown of the 24 hour challenge, the team cycled themselves into the history books of the Mondello24 Cycle event with a performance to be extremely proud of.  Managed by two time Solo Champion at Mondello24, Karen Cassidy, the team were in safe hands as she expertly steered them successfully to the finish line on Sunday midday and to a new course record. Completing 260 laps of the 3.5km track to finish with 902.2 km on the clock was a massive achievement.

Whilst their endurance racing experience going into the event might have been lacking, their passion, determination and willingness to give full commitment across the 24 hours, to support, respect and learn from each other was in abundance, as was the desire to succeed, to give as much as they each individually could to the team, supporting each other on and off the track, epitomising the "all for one and one for all" spirit throughout the event.

If you thought the challenge of Mondello24 was a step too far outside of your comfort zone to consider for yourself, then this chat will most definitely change your mind and give you plenty of food for thought, of what might just be possible when you gather a team of like-minded people with the same goal willing to go the distance collectively and individually.

Greg O’Shea is a proud Olympian, IRONMAN and Limerick man who spent a few short days in the Love Island Villa in 2019 and was catapulted to fame when he was crowned the winner of the hugely popular reality show with his love interest at the time Amber Gill. Shying away from the spotlight, breaking the unwritten rules of engagement post his Love Island win, Greg headed for home in Ireland to pursue a lifelong sporting dream of becoming an Olympian. With his focus firmly on achieving his boyhood dream, his drive, focus and determination saw him and his team mates achieve success as Ireland's Rugby Sevens team at Tokyo 2020.  

Retiring from professional sport, Greg started to dip his toes into the exciting world of endurance sport, from cycling a stage of the Tour de France, to completing a UTMB race, he completed IRONMAN Barcelona as his first ever triathlon last October and in April of this year he completed his first IRONMAN 70.3 and only his second triathlon at IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia.  It is fair to say that the bug for endurance racing has firmly been caught. His passion for chasing goals, fitness related in particular and for inspiring people to follow their own fitness journey has seen him set up his Bettr App designed to improve the mental and physical health of its users.

Whilst all might seem perfect from the outside looking in at the life that Greg has carved for himself, as an athlete, presenter and recognised name at home and beyond, a darkness descended on him not so long ago where his mental health was significantly affected. Thankfully Greg sought the help and professional guidance needed to find his way through a very difficult time to come out the other side in a much better place.  Greg now uses sport and exercise as one of his five pillars to keep him on track with his mental health. 

This is a great chat with Greg who has worked hard to get where he is today, his perseverance, determination and focus have paid dividends personally and professionally, the future is bright and the world his oyster as he pursues his passions in sport, love and life! 

Triathlete Annie Brooks from the UK was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2012, in 2014 she completed her first triathlon and in October 2023 conquered the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona crossing the finish line like a boss with the biggest smile on her face. 

Annie's journey in sport and in life is one of resilience, determination and courage, her positivity and passion for life and triathlon spills over through her bubbly personality despite the challenges and obstacles her health can put in her way. 

With stress and fatigue a key factor in triggering an epileptic fit it is a wonder she is able to get to the startline of a race in once piece, fit and ready to tackle the swim, bike and run adventure that lies ahead, never mind get herself to the finish line of the most iconic IRONMAN race in the world in Kona. 

This really is an inspiring chat with Annie, who shares a snippet of her life, living and thriving with a hidden disability, one that when it strikes, and it can strike at any time, can be so debilitating, frustrating and cause havoc to her daily living, never mind her training for triathlon which she simply does for fun and because she loves it. 

It was my sister Michelle who asked me to get Annie as a guest on the podcast after Kona, she herself inspired and in awe of Annie's ability to live her life to the full despite her epilepsy. For those of you who don't know, Michelle has had epilepsy since her early teens and coupled with her cerebral palsy and the nature of her epilepsy can struggle to live life to the full.  For Michelle and I think for many of us, Annie offers a beacon of hope into what is possible if you can find the adaptations to enable you to thrive despite your own individual challenges and when you find the sport or activity that ignites such a passion in you, it can help you to pursue a life brimming with fun and adventure. 

If you enjoy this episode and want to follow Annie's upcoming adventures go to her website www.talesofanniebean.com you can also follow her on instagram @itsanniebean

Lucy Gossage, Nikki Bartlett and Bex Milnes share wonderful insight into Lucy's recent remarkable Montane Spine Race achievement which she conquered in January of this year during one for the worst periods of weather the UK got this winter.

Professional triathlete Nikki and her partner Bex Milnes supported Lucy's endeavours with Bex capturing images and updates of Lucy on the Pennine Way, meanwhile, Nikki turned the images and information received into an exciting socials storybook of tales from inside the race, capturing the imagination and hearts of everyone eager to follow Lucy's progress as she embarked and conquered one of the toughest foot races in the world. 

Stretching 268 miles or 431km from Edale in Derbyshire, England to the village of Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish Border on the Pennine Way, if you don't know where that is, then get out your map and check it out. 

Lucy gives us a glimpse of just what her preparation for an endeavour of this nature entailed as well as great insight into how her race unfolded, although we gloss over some of the intricate and technical aspects of the race, we still get to understand the remarkable journey undertaken by the 14 time IRONMAN Champion as she ventures beyond her comfort zone into uncharted mental and physical territory, pushing her limits to the brink to discover her true capabilities.

In this episode, Bex and Nikki share their own version of Lucy's journey with some snippets of what it was like for them to follow the race as they closely and cautiously tracked her progress to the finishline.  As the race proceeded on the Pennine Way for Lucy, another story was unfolding behind the scenes which, when unravelled, would have heartbreaking consequences for Lucy. Resilient and robust as she is, she faced the situation head on and began picking up the broken pieces one bit at a time as she concurrently recovered from what she had put her body and mind through to reach the finishline of the Spine Race.  

As you can expect, bringing the four of us together for a chat, resulted in lots of high energy, fun and laughter, the power of sport and friendship between these three incredible women as they share their personal stories of this epic adventure will certainly put a smile on your face and I have no doubt inspire you to step well outside your comfort zone! 

If you enjoy this show and want to find out more insight from Lucy about her Spine Race be sure to pop over to her website www.lucygossage.com

If you wish to support Move Against Cancer you can click on Lucy's Just giving page  https://www.justgiving.com/page/lucy-gossage-spine-move and while you are here tuning into the podcast, why not check out the chats I had with Lucy (Ep 26) and Nikki (Ep 8) for the podcast in 2020 and 2019 respectively!

Irish professional triathlete Aichlinn O'Reilly, set a new Irish IRONMAN record in a time of 7:59:04, finishing in 6th place at IM Western Australia in Busselton in early December of last year. 

The young athlete from Mayo has been involved in the sport of triathlon on and off since he was a teenager. Moving to Perth just seven weeks before his IRONMAN race, with his committed return to the sport and his professional licence secured he is dedicated to keeping his passion for triathlon ignited and delivering performances in the sport to the best of his ability on the International stage. 

No stranger to success in triathlon, the 2022 National Long Distance Champion has a trophy cabinet full of silverware with multiple podiums from his seasons of racing in 2017, 2018 and 2021. In 2016 he represented Ireland at European Cup Level and prior to that he represented Ireland at Junior European Cup Level in 2013 & 2014.  An accomplished cyclist some of his most notable cycling results include winner of the 2021 edition of the Wild Mayo 300k Ultra and back in 2017 he was the overall Rás Maigh Eo winner.

A graduate of University of Limerick with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, his interest in sport goes deeper than just his own performance in triathlon. In this episode, we dive right into Aichlinn's record-setting race getting insight into both his training in the lead-up to race day and race day itself. With his eyes set on racing on the world stage in 2024, we look forward to seeing how his season unfolds over the coming weeks and months, and if you are interested in financially supporting his journey in triathlon please do get in touch with Aichlinn directly.  

Bob Babbitt, is an icon and legend of the sport of triathlon, he fell in love with the sport when he completed his first IRONMAN in 1980 in Oahu, that day literally changed his whole life, for the better and he has never looked back.

A member of the IRONMAN Hall of Fame, USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, Co Founder of Competitor Magazine and the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Bob has been involved in the sport of triathlon for almost five decades and shows no sign of stopping or hanging up his trisuit. 

Host of the hugely popular Breakfast with Bob he shares the incredible stories of athletes chasing their goals and dreams providing a much loved global platform to inspire others to take up the sport he so dearly loves and has dedicated most of the past fifty years to.

Trailblazer, innovator, entrepreneur, storyteller, author and multiple IRONMAN, Bob is one of the greatest historians of our sport with a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity that sparks a flame within him,  his passion for triathlon isn't passive, its infectious and the entertaining stories shared about his own life in sport insights from the people he has interviewed through the years and those he has helped through the Challenged Athletes Foundation are truly inspiring. 

British triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay last month completed a hat trick of World Titles in three years by becoming the 2023 IRONMAN World Champion, finally earning a World Title that had eluded her four times since her pro debut on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2017. 

Lucy has finished in second place in Kona every time she has raced there before finally breaking the tape as the IRONMAN World Champion in a World's best time of 8:24:31 last month, on a day that will be remembered in sporting history for many years to come for a whole host of incredible achievements by the over 2,000 women who participated in the first ever Women's only IRONMAN World Championship race. 

Lucy has been on an incredible journey in sport throughout her life, an impressive and driven athlete at a young age, her sights were always set on being the best in class in her chosen sport, whether that was swimming as her first love, to triathlon where she has excelled to become one of the most loved and best triathletes in the world.

The 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, and 2022 World Triathlon Long Distance World Champion hasn't been on an easy road to becoming a Multiple World Champion. Two major injury set-backs in recent times saw her and her team seek out in genius ways to keep her on track and ensure her journey to the IRONMAN World Championship finish line this year was not derailed but was kept firmly on track all the way to the top step of the World Championship podium. 

Lucy's rise to sports superstar is hugely inspiring, her commitment to her craft, her tenacity, focus, determination and her resilience in the face of disappointment and adversity is something one can only admire whether a fan of the sport of triathlon or not.  It's hard not to be a fan of Lucy Charles Barclay as we  follow her life's journey in awe of her ability to continually push her mind and body to the limit in pursuit of success and achievement of her dreams. 

This is a great chat with Lucy who shares incredible insight into her life and loves as she regales us with stories of her journey to the top of the world.

Helen Murray is the voice behind the hugely popular podcast Inside Tri Show, she has been involved in media for many years fulfilling her goal of working for the BBC covering both the London and Rio Olympics and The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Gold Coast. She has been podcasting since 2014, going solo on her own weekly show since 2019, which has been a huge hit with her listeners across the globe. 

Athlete, adventurer and all round awesome human, Helen has a special way of interacting with and interviewing people to get the best stories and most out them for her show.  It's no surprise that away from her love of media and meeting people she has carved a career for herself that she loves as a Cancer Rehabilitation Specialist with Move Charity supporting young people who are going through a cancer journey to get back to sport and exercise. 

Helen has been involved in triathlon since 2011 which has seen her take on lots of races and challenges including IRONMAN Austria and IRONMAN Wales.  Her most recent adventure saw her complete the Pan Celtic Race earlier this year.  This episode was recorded in the weeks prior to IRONMAN Wales which Helen was due to participate in last month, but unfortunately her plans got side lined through appendicitis in the days leading up to the race. She does however have big plans for 2024 across triathlon, adventure and her podcast which she talks about on the show. 

This is a lovely chat with Helen who simply loves sport and loves her job! Take a listen and be uplifted, inspired and energised by her outlook on life and her tenacity and commitment to achieving her goals whether personal or professional.