The sport of triathlon in Great Britain is booming thanks in large part to the medal heroics of the elite athletes in recent years and The Sportsman caught up with several of the British stars in Rotterdam ahead of the World Series Grand Final...
As the rain batters the streets in the Netherlands, the cream of world triathlon are huddled in a theatre reception trying to make the best of the elements ahead of Saturday's big race and Tom Bishop is a picture of calm as he bids to sign off what has been a hugely impressive year. Alistair Brownlee reckons the 25-year-old is finally fulfilling the potential he has shown in recent years and Bishop agrees with that sentiment as he reflects on a World Triathlon Series that has seen him secure a first ever podium finish in a WTS event in Abu Dhabi, to go along with a number of other strong performances.
"It is more of a confidence thing than anything and this year has shown me that I can be up there and compete," Bishop tells The Sportsman. "I really take that into each race now and I fight for those positions whereas in the past few World Series I've not really known what I can do and I've perhaps held back. This year I want to be up there and I want to be trying to push for medals."
Belief
The environment nurtured by Brendan Purcell since he was appointed as the British Triathlon Performance Director in 2013 has played a big role in Tom's development
"For someone like Tom, it is a case of how we can support him," revealed Purcell. "It's not the job of the head coach to say "believe, believe, believe" but rather say "how about we work on this facet of your training or racing" and then when that comes off Tom has greater belief in himself and greater belief in the system.
"It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation where he starts to crack it and he starts to believe it a bit more."
Bishop and plenty of the other British triathletes have certainly started to 'crack it' as far as the WTS is concerned, with Jessica Learmonth producing a career-best effort in Stockholm to take silver and her training partner, Lucy Hall, won the ITU Triathlon World Cup in Cape Town at the start of the season before securing several top-fifteen finishes in WTS events.
"Well, Jess has done very well! In all seriousness, Jess coming second in Stockholm was brilliant", said Hall. "We train together and it's really nice to see your training partner doing so well. We've spent so much time together during the past two years, doing races, going on training camps, and I'm just really happy.
"We both started off in Cape Town in February and we both had really good races there, although it is difficult to keep going from February through to the end of the season."
The demands of the sport have taken their toll on several triathletes as Jodie Stimpson, Non Stanford and Vicky Holland have all suffered injuries that have disrupted various parts of their respective campaigns.
2018 Commonwealth Games
For Stimpson, she admits 2017 has been a year of frustration and even though it has given her a greater appreciation of being on the start line, the competitive juices flowing within her ensure that she is already eyeing the defence of her Commonwealth Games title on the Gold Coast in 2018.
"I'd love to say that I'll try to defend my Commonwealth title but that's in the hands of the selectors and I can't really do an awful lot at this stage," said Stimpson. "It is what it is. If they give me the opportunity then great but if not then obviously I'll be supporting Team England."
The selectors have a tough job on their hands and it is a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by Learmonth and Hall, with the latter admitting "you don't want to be in the selectors' shoes right now because it is so tough for them", while Learmonth refuses to get carried away despite her heroics in Stockholm
We'll just plod along and see what happens - Jess Learmonth
The selectors announce their team selections for the Commonwealth Games at the end of November and the triathletes recognise that they have done as much as they can to try and convince the selectors of their value, while Brendan Purcell and British Triathlon have created an environment that ensures British Triathlon is continuing to produce genuine medal contenders.
"I think the thing for me is how can you define the attributes that make a champion. There's obviously DNA because you don't get into the party if you don't have that, you also need belief, opportunity and environment," revealed Purcell.
"Belief and DNA have to come from within the individuals, we can help foster those to a certain extent, but where we really come in is creating an environment and opportunities, as well as removing obstacles."
Purcell and the rest of the staff at British Triathlon are clearly doing plenty right as their athletes prepare for one big final effort in rainy Rotterdam before looking ahead to possible Commonwealth Games selection.
