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Epigram

9.12.2013

Sport A life without limits Editor: Hetty Knox

Editor: Jacob Webster

sport@epigram.org.uk

jacob.webster@epigram.org.uk sportonline@epigram.org.uk

Online Editor: George Moxey

Chrissie Wellington

Hetty Knox Sports Editor Chrissie Wellington is the four time Ironman champion and is undefeated in the discipline. Now a Bristol resident, Wellington spoke to a captivated 850 strong audience on November 25th at the Wills Memorial Building. Ironman is the most gruelling of triathlons, encompassing a 2.4 mile swim, 112mile bike ride and a marathon. Those that undertake this most revered endurance event gain respect from athletes worldwide, because not only are these triathletes required to be physically fit but also have

enormous mental capacity. She spoke of her life journey and the factors that have made her into such a remarkable athlete. Wellington has not always been an elite athlete, however. Always a sporty child, she eventually stopped sport all together aged twenty to focus on her university studies and then to become a lawyer. She obtained a place at a London law firm, but deferred this to go travelling. It was while travelling that these words were uttered to her: ‘Look deep inside yourself and work out what your passion is’. Chrissie’s passion wasn’t law, it was international development. So she turned down her place studying law

to pursue an MA in her desired field; this is where her athletic career began. Having started running during her MA she then took a job in Nepal managing water and sanitation projects. Whilst there she began mountain biking - her bike was nicknamed ‘Prem’, the Nepalese for boyfriend. In Nepal she discovered her love of sport in its rawest from and despite on her return to the UK practically sinking due to an oversized wetsuit in her first triathlon, after a few more attempts she eventually was crowned World Age Group champion. Until this point Wellington had been juggling her triathlon training

with her work back in the UK, but she had reached a fork in the road Should she take the sensible route and carry on with her respectable, safe career or should she become a professional athlete? She chose the latter, because she didn’t want to regret not trying, or what could have been. In an unprecedented feat, Wellington went on to win in her first ever Ironman event, and even more remarkably won the Ironman world title that same year, which came as quite a shock to her rivals and herself. She went on to take three further world championship titles. The 2011 title was in her eyes the best because she ‘overcame

imperfections absolutely perfectly’. Despite it not being her best time, Wellington had the mental strength and capacity to overcome doubts and to forget about the third degree burns she had suffered some weeks before in training. The most vital message she gave to the audience was that the most powerful weapon you have is your mind, and if you can master this then you have the capacity to far surpass the limits you set yourself - if you are willing to try. Now retired, Wellington has many other ventures that occupy her time. Development issues are still one of her passions so she is part the campaign to involve more women in sport. Recently giving evidence to the parliamentary committee on women in sport she has described the current culture of a lack of physical activity in the population as a ‘deep rooted, endemic problem’. Some of her key evidence to the committee addressed the positives that sport can bring; such as physical and psychological wellbeing, softer life skills and the ability sport has to connect communities. She summarises the barriers that need to be tackled into four categories: Practical, personal-psychosocial, financial and institutional. This is such an important initiative to Wellington because she believes, like Nelson Mandela, that ‘sport has the power to change the world’. Wellington is an accomplished public speaker and uses her platform to inspire all those around her, especially women. She feels it is her job ‘to lend hope to women that anything is possible and make them realize that they can strive for more’.

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Inside Sport

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Fr the pick of the week’s sporting Twittosphere See the #Tweets of the week, page 53

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