Lauren Steadman

Started: She first tried Para triathlon in 2011. She began focusing on the sport after representing Great Britain in swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. (britishtriathlonmedia.org, 21 Sep 2014; bbc.com, 31 May 2014) Reason: Her uncle, a triathlete himself, advised her to try out Para triathlon during her training for the 2012 Paralympic Games. "In 2011 I competed in the British nationals and came second, and realised I had transferable skills from swimming to triathlon. I then got asked to represent Great Britain a few more times in world championships, and decided to make triathlon my new challenge. I found immense enjoyment from pushing my body to the limits in three sports rather than just the one." (britishtriathlonmedia.org, 21 Sep 2014) Ambition: To retain her Paralympic gold medal in the PTS5 event at the 2024 Games in Paris, and to compete in Nordic skiing at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (tri247.com, 23 May 2024; Instagram profile, 24 Nov 2023; paralympics.org.uk, 09 Jun 2023) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she became the first British female triathlete, and second British triathlete of any gender, to win a Paralympic gold medal in the sport following her victory in the women's PTS5 event in Japan. Following her silver medal from the 2016 Games, her victory at the 2020 Games made her the first British triathlete of any gender to win more than one Paralympic medal in the sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: She was named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2022 New Year's Honours list. (hampshirelive.news, 31 Dec 2021) She was presented with the 2016 Female Para Triathlete of the Year award by 220 Triathlon Magazine. (220triathlon.com, 24 Apr 2017) She was named Female Para Triathlete of the Year in 2014 and 2015 by British Triathlon. (paralympics.org.uk, 16 Nov 2015) She was named the 2007 BBC East Sports Para Personality of the Year in England. (bbc.co.uk, 14 Nov 2007) Additional Info: ILLNESS AFFECTS PARIS PREPARATIONS She tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2024 and struggled with 'long COVID' in the following months. She was only cleared to compete by doctors in July 2024. "COVID attacked my central nervous system, and I've had long COVID since. I haven't had the preparation I would like to have done, the medical staff have looked after my training. [Competitions are] the normal benchmarks for me to work out how I have been doing, but I haven't been on a blue carpet this week [speaking in July 2024], I haven't raced any of the girls so I don't know where they are at or where I'm at. So there are a lot of unknowns. I just have to have confidence and use my experience that my body will get me there. You cannot push things when it comes to breathing. It is going to be a fine line [to be ready for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris]. Normally I would like to feel ready to race about three months before a Games. I don't feel ready right now. We have a plan which will be down to the line, so I likely won't feel race ready until a couple of weeks before." (bbc.co.uk, 23 Jul 2024) EYES ON WINTER GAMES She has aspirations to compete in Nordic skiing at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. "The first time I saw cross-country skiing was at the [2022] Beijing Winter Paralympics. I was doing the commentary with Channel 4 and I thought this looks dangerous, this looks painful, and this is right up my street. I had always thought that doing a Winter Paralympics would be really cool, but as with any elite sport it takes years and years to develop what's needed to be podium-worthy. I was told it would take six years, but I've given myself four to make Milan 2026. I always thought maybe I've left it a bit late, and then I went out to Beijing and watched them do the skiing and just thought if I can work hard enough and can get the skill set and I've got the engine from triathlon, so if I can just transfer it well enough, maybe I could be on a win here. I'm learning new skills and probably some things I can transfer back to triathlon. I'm thoroughly enjoying being a beginner. It's a really interesting morph. I love triathlon, but because I'm a beginner now at a new sport, the fire for that is greater than the fire for triathlon." (tri247.com, 23 May 2024; ParalympicsGB YouTube channel, 31 May 2023; thetimes.co.uk, 23 Mar 2023) BREAK AND RETURN She took an 18-month break from sport after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. She said beginning Para Nordic skiing training helped her rediscover her passion for sport. "I had a sabbatical, I just needed it for myself. I'd been doing sport for so long, I was doing it and it felt monotonous and like I didn't want to be doing sport anymore, which is not a usual feeling for me. The moment that I found cross-country skiing and that feeling of, 'I'm not good at this yet, I need to be better, I need to be stronger', it started that fire again, which transferred beautifully into triathlon. Because they're so similar, in that during the summer you will do more swim, bike, run to cross train for cross-country skiing. I kind of just merged the two. I did not think I would be toeing the start line in Paris [for triathlon at the 2024 Paralympic Games]. I went from thinking I was going to retire to now having four sports." (ParalympicsGB YouTube channel, 31 May 2023) OTHER ACTIVITIES In November 2023 she began serving as a non-executive director for the British Olympic Foundation. She has also worked as a commentator for British television broadcaster Channel 4 at several sporting events, including the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. (LinkedIn profile, 24 Jun 2024; tri247.com, 15 May 2024) TV APPEARANCES She has appeared on the British competition television shows 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins'. (

Sporting Relatives: She has an uncle who has represented New Zealand as a triathlete. (kellyswimming.com, 07 Jun 2011)