Tri Talking Sport

She narrowly missed qualification for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 then injury saw her miss London 2012. Despite the disappointment that ensued it didn’t deter her from following her passion for sport, in fact it made her hungry for more and created an opportunity for Emma to explore and excel in multisport racing resulting in a career of sporting excellence across swim bike and run. 

Having taken up triathlon in 2012 she spent some time on the ITU circuit before making a move to longer distance racing. She has worked hard to get where she is today but she has made the sport her own, embracing and adapting quickly to the triathlon lifestyle and although running is still her favourite discipline when added to her swim and bike she is a force to be reckoned with.  Some of her notable achievements include being a Double World Champion in Duathlon, she also has a World Aquathlon Title, she finished second in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in 2017 which saw her make her mark at the distance whilst the world was watching. 

Since then she has podiumed in countless triathlon races at a variety of distances across the world including a 3rd place spot at IM Austria in 2018 where she stamped her ticket to race in Kona.  In 2019 she had a podiumed packed season and in early 2020 she finished IM 70.3 South Africa in second place. Last year was not the season she was expecting but making the most of her opportunities she packed a punch at all her racing efforts in the virtual world and in real life. 

We chat about facing his fears, stepping up to the challenge,  respecting goals, the importance of exercise and mindset and how the pivotal decision to get healthy and fit at the age of 27 was the catalyst to a new life that he could previously only have dreamed of.  If you are in need of a boost of motivation heading into the New Year then this is a show you don't want to miss. There are so many nuggets of insight and information in this episode, grab a cuppa and give it your full attention, it could be just the conversation you need to hear as we embrace a New Year. 

It wasn’t until she moved to Canada in 2010 that the running bug caught up with her again,  she then found triathlon and endurance sport in 2012 when a running injury sidelined her to cycling and swimming and so began a love story with swim, bike and run.  

Michelle raced at all distances of triathlon as a successful age group athlete and in 2019 dipped her toes into the world of being a professional triathlete, racing at IRONMAN Ireland was a very proud day for her and her family when mental grit, digging deep and sheer determination saw her finish as 4th professional female on the day. 

Ready to embrace this whole new world of being a professional athlete in 2020, it was not to be due to Covid19 and instead of training and racing her way through the year and around the world she is embarking on an adventure of a different nature with the birth of her baby due early in 2021. 

She is the founder of fitness-based awareness campaign ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’ which involves participating in physical challenges such as an attempted Guinness World Record in Holland, climbing the route of a glacier in Iceland and completing the Fan Dance gruelling 24km trek in Wales all whilst relying heavily on crutches. In July 2018, Nikki became the first crutch user to climb 4 Irish mountains on crutches in less than 32 hours. 

Her passion for life, resilience in the face of adversity and her ability to face a challenge head on is both inspiring and uplifting. Life dealt Nikki some difficult circumstances and challenges at a young age but she has embraced those challenges, risen above them and now empowers others to do the same. As a motivational speaker and advocate for following a passion for sport, adventure and the outdoors, she has coupled this interest with her profession in her current role as The Ulster Development Officer with Triathlon Ireland.

This brave ice swimmer with a warm heart has completed an ice mile swim and multiple kilometre and 500m ice swims, representing Ireland in two World Championships: Burghausen, Germany in 2017 and Murmansk, Russia in 2019. Earlier this year she enjoyed a swimming adventure of epic proportions in Antartica. Wait till you hear about the icebergs!! 

She has been the IISA Ireland chairperson since 2018 and firmly believes in the importance of giving back to her sport and her community.  Her vivid description of her swimming adventures and her infectious lust for the water is fascinating. She does say that her number one reason for swimming is so that she can eat more cake but there’s a lot more to it than that, the community and people she has surrounded herself with have helped her to not only believe in herself but also helped her to continue to strive for success in swimming every day.

June who is now 62, completed her first IRONMAN and winning her age group in Barcelona in 2018 on her 60th birthday, she went on to have an incredible year in 2019 winning her age group at IRONMAN Lanzarote and IM70.3 Dun Laoghaire.  She finished 7th in her age group at the IM70.3 World Championships in Nice and went on to finish 6th in her age group at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona just missing out on a 5th place podium spot. Although racing plans were put on hold for 2020, she recently completed a charity cycle of 403 miles around Northern Ireland in 3 days, the only woman with 10 men to complete the cycle.

Gerard Turbitt has also risen to the top step of the podium in triathlon in recent years, now aged 67 he is as focused and ambitious in sport as any man or woman half his age. Last year, Gerard also raced at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona. Narrowly missing his slot in Lanzarote in 2018 he raced IRONMAN Wales a few months later, just a week after racing the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in South Africa. In Wales 2018 he won his age group to secure his place for the Big Island in 2019 finishing 8thon the day. 

Both June and Ger are multiple Triathlon Ireland Age Group Champions across a variety of distances, they are humble, proud and passionate about a sport that has given them so much and is proof that age is just a number, it’s how you choose to embrace your life regardless of age that makes the difference, they epitomise the idea that growing older is not a barrier to enjoying a successful and happy life of sport and triathlon.

He first dipped his toe in IRONMAN racing in 1982 going up against the best in the world at the time Dave Scott, it took Mark multiple attempts until 1989 to finally become the World Champion for the first time beating Dave Scott to the finish by 58 seconds. Marks IRONMAN journey and that IRONWAR of 1989 has been covered extensively and widely,  so in this show, we chat about his career and life generally,  and shoot the breeze in what at times felt more like a chat over coffee with a friend than an interview with the man who was voted ESPN’s Greatest Endurance Athlete of All Time, he also holds the title of Greatest American Triathlete of all Time, not to mention he is a member of the IRONMAN Hall of FAME, USAT Hall of Fame and ITU Hall of Fame.

Mark shares lots of insight into his fascinating journey in sport, but I think more importantly he shares insight into the mindset of a champion with lots of nuggets of advice and practical lessons that we can all take away and use in our daily lives regardless of our sporting aspirations and goals, and now more than ever we can all do with an injection of inspiration that we can use daily to keep us both motivated and mindful in these turbulent times. 

Shauna Bocquet from Craughwell AC who at 16 years of age is a Triple Junior World Champion in wheelchair racing, took up the sport at just 8 years of age.  She has excelled in her sport and has her sights set on some significant goals in the future. Her success to date includes competing at the London mini marathon 5 times, winning the U14 age group on two occasions, she competed at the Diamond League in Zurich in September 2016 and the IPC Grand Prix in Paris in June 2018 and she was the VHI Women’s Mini-Marathon wheelchair winner in 2018 & 2019. She is fundraising to build a 400m track at her home club in Craughwell, which you can hear more about in this episode, you can also join the challenge and support her efforts and be part of her success in sport in the future.

Pauline Murray from Galway Triathlon Club who took up running in her mid 30’s, last Saturday completed a 50k run to celebrate her 50th birthday. I chatted with Pauline about the run, her training, her running buddies 'The Dangan Girls’ her move from running to triathlon and how joining Galway Triathlon Club has led to her living a life she would never have considered 20 years ago. With marathons, triathlons and long-distance swimming in her sporting CV and now a 50k run under her belt, her can do and will do positive attitude shine clearly throughout in this episode. 

Both of my guests give us an insight into their journey’s in sport, what it means to them to have an active lifestyle and what drives and motivates them to pursue their passion for the outdoors and sport. 

She has adventure and exploration coursing through her veins, her passion for the outdoors and thirst for adventure is infectious  and really knows no bounds, so much so that after spending many years working in the drinks industry she came home to Mayo to set up her own tour company Rachels Irish Adventures providing the opportunity for her guests to enjoy tailor-made tours off the beaten path to experience, discover and taste the best of Ireland. 

With a keen interest in exploration and experiencing new cultures and places, she has travelled the world and participated in some great races.  From the World's Toughest Race - Eco Challenge Fiji to the Marathon De Sable, The Maya Mountain Challenge - Belize Adventure Race and Slovenia Adventure Race. Closer to home she has tackled the Race in Donegal, The Beast Adventure Race and Coast to Coast Ireland, no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination.  Added to this impressive list her ultra-distance cycling and trail running success is also hugely impressive, her trophy and medal haul is hugely inspiring.

In this episode we get an insight into Rachel’s training for the TransAtlantic Way, we hear some funny stories from her recent epic adventures at home and abroad and, we also get a snippet into the mindset of an athlete who’s positivity is endless. Although we didn’t discuss this in the show it is incredible to think that when Rachel took part in the OCC in Chamonix a number of years ago, she ended up in a coma for over 40 hours after suffering from hyponatremia, luckily she woke up without suffering any brain damage. Rachel's energy, passion and commitment to her office outdoors and to her life of adventure is evident right from the start of our chat on the show. 

She has finished on the podium seven times in Kona since that first appearance in 2009 with three world titles, two-second places and one-third place. Her run course record on the Big Island set in 2014 still stands to date, a testament to the determination tenacity, power and sheer grit it took to literally run herself to the top of the podium and claim that victory on the day. 

Her sporting CV is a lengthy one some highlights of her success include; representing Australia at the ITU Triathlon World Championships from 2001-2005, earning silver medals in 2002 & 2003 before stepping up to long-distance racing. She won the Nice Long Course Triathlon in 2004, was second at the ITU Long Course World Championship in 2005, finished third at the IM 70.3 World Championships in 2006 before claiming the world title at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2007. She has clocked up over 50 wins at major races across the world during her career to date. 

Married to fellow World Champion triathlete, Timothy O’Donnell they welcomed Izzy to the family 3 years ago and are expecting baby number two at the very end of this year. They along with Izzy announced this news on the Tim and Rinny show much to the delight of their followers and were also appointed global brand ambassadors for Aqua Sphere in recent weeks. 

Despite the lack of races now taking place due to the global pandemic, Rinny is as focused as ever, we shoot the breeze in this episode, chatting about her career in sport, juggling training, racing and motherhood all whilst tenaciously and passionately chasing her dreams and goals.