The World Triathlon Podcast

Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, the ever outspoken Paulo Sousa had no fewer than seven members of his training group on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic start lines last year. On episode 58, he shares his excitement over the three new members added to the roster for 2022, the experiences and philosophies that have shaped his methods and why pragmatism and honesty are the core principles to everything he practices. And hill reps. Lots and lots of hill reps.

Hungary's Csongor Lehmann and Canadian Kira Gupta-Baltazar join us for the third in our mini-series of ones-to-watch for the 2022 season. Csongor was born and raised in the home of Hungarian triathlon, Tiszaujvaros, a fierce competitor with Junior and U23 World titles to his name, trained by his dad and brought up on a rich diet of triathlon as soon as he could walk. Kira made her debut in the Canadian Mixed Relay team in Montreal and, having won the NCAA Women's Triathlon title for her beloved San Francisco University, is looking to hit her first World Cups in 2022. 

Two of the hottest new talents ready to breakthrough in 2022 are Denmark’s Alberte Kjaer Pedersen and Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo. Coming from opposite sides of the swim-bike-run equation, both are working it out on the world stage, hitting their first WTCS starts in style and planning to help their countries to Mixed Relay Olympic debuts in Paris. 

As we begin the countdown to the start of a new World Triathlon season, it's time to catch up with a few of the faces set to be breaking through in 2022. In the first of a series of ones-to-watch specials, the USA's Chase McQueen and French U23 World Champion Emma Lombardi give us the lowdown on the very different trajectories of their journeys in the sport so far, including high drama at WTCS Leeds and the art of French Grand Prix racing.

When the women's PTWC wheelchair category was left out of the Para Triathlon programme of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, USA's Kendall Gretsch didn't dwell on what might have been. Instead, she took up Para Nordic Skiing, going on to win gold at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games. After finally getting her shot at triathlon glory at Tokyo 2020 and winning the title in the most dramatic fashion, she is now heading to Beijing and hoping to defend her winter titles for the first time.

The most decorated World Triathlon Champion of all time, Spain's Javier Gomez has left an indelible mark on the sport ever since his first world title at U23 level in 2003. He looks back through those defining career moments and, with new coach Dan Plews, plots a route to his next chapter with one eye firmly on unfinished business in Kona.

Former USAT coach and the man behind Origin Performance, Ian O'Brien joins us on the latest episode, revealing how to achieve a winning mindset and why it is important to become 'comfortable in being uncomfortable' on the journey to the very top of the international sport. We go inside the tactics and hear the tales of what it takes to train the best in the world.

Fresh from her first international gold at the Europe Triathlon Cup Quarteira, Lotte Miller shares her unique insights to the Team Norway set up, from the intimidating early days with Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden to the cusp of an Olympic Mixed Relay slot, the emotional rollercoaster of 2021 and how the 25-year-old has already learned the hard way how to spot the danger signs of burn out.

The boy from Brockley becomes the man in Malibu. Alex Yee's story to delivering the 2021 of his Olympic dreams has taken a long and winding road, but from the moment he took the Series tape for the first time at June's WTCS Leeds, the stage was set for more magic. From Olympic gold and silver to the World Triathlon Championship Series overall podium and wrapped up with some Super League brilliance, that is precisely what he delivered.

He lost his eyesight in Afghanistan 2011, was a London 2012 swimming champion exactly 12 months later and then, after two highly successful Paralympic Games in the pool, made the switch to para triathlon. Having doubted whether he should even try and qualify for the hugely competitive visually impaired start list at Tokyo, it all came together on the day, winning gold with guide Greg Billington to justify the sacrifices he made along the way and plant a seed for a potential Paralympic journey that just may reach all the way to LA 2028.