The World Triathlon Podcast

The new Paralympic Champion in the visually impaired (PTVI) category of para triathlon, the incredible Susana Rodriguez spent 2020 on the front line of Spain's fight against the pandemic, caring for patients while wrestling her burning desire to win the biggest race of them all. She explains the personal battle she fought to ready herself mentally and physically, the incredible importance of the unique blind-athlete-and-guide relationship and the 'emotional and physical bomb' that was competing at Tokyo 2020.

From bronze at London 2012 to silver at Rio 2016, Jonny Brownlee finally scored Olympic triathlon gold at Tokyo 2020 in the inaugural Mixed Relay. He reveals the tactics that went into that success, how it might reevaluate his planned Olympic retirement ahead of Paris and how it was preparing for his first Games experience without brother Alistair.

Netherlands' para triathlon legend Jetze Plat has dominated the PTWC class for the past five years and now heads to Tokyo to defend the Paralympic title he won when the sport debuted at Rio 2016. We caught up with him in February this year at a training camp in Namibia, where he had been invited to join the Dutch Triathlon's Olympic squad preparations for a huge 2021 for the sport. Listen as Plat reveals how he has used his disability to drive his remarkable competitive edge since the age of five.

Ahead of the World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal, we hear from three of the contenders for medals in the brand-new super-sprint format, ready to build on their very different Tokyo 2020 inspirations and tackle an intense weekend of racing with just two events left in the chase to become the 2021 World Champions.

It needed the complete race to deliver Flora Duffy's Olympic destiny, typhoon-affected and coming at the end of a long, difficult road to Tokyo 2020. Hear how she handled the pressures of going for Bermuda's first ever Olympic gold and ended up receiving congratulations from Hollywood superstars.

Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt lit up the Olympic Games on Monday with the kind of display that is the hallmark of a great champion. It was a goal he had been working towards for years having earmarked Tokyo 2020 as his shot at the big one, and he duly delivered, the closing stages of a 10km run to the tape of 29:34 one of those Blummy charges you just had to step back in awe and enjoy. He walks us through the build up, the race, and his 2021 plans for both World Triathlon and Kona.

A special Tokyo 2020 Olympics edition of the podcast sees experts from across the sport weigh in with their thoughts on who has a shot at the Olympic medals. Sydney 2000 Champion Simon Whitfield, London 2012 silver medalist Lisa Norden, double World Champion and Olympian Helen Jenkins, the 1997 Triathlon and two-time Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack, voice of TriathlonLive Trevor Harris and journalists Brad Culp and Tim Heming give us the benefits of their collective wisdom... see if you agree with their (Olym)picks.

The most successful Olympic triathlete of all time, Alistair Brownlee admits why he started WTCS Leeds with an ankle injury that suggested he probably should not: the magnetic pull of the Olympic Games. He explains why he owes so much to the sport, what it is that defines greatness and why the British Mixed Relay team is in good hands at Tokyo 2020 with brother Jonny and Alex Yee.

On Olympic Day, one month out from Tokyo 2020, Ireland's Carolyn Hayes looks ahead to her Olympic debut having finally had qualification confirmed after a long and drawn-out few years. Silver in the World Triathlon Cup Lisbon and a top-10 finish in WTCS Leeds showed the hard work and training in Wicklow, Ireland is paying off. Now it's all eyes on Japan as the final preparations get underway.

South Africa's Richard Murray was readying for a third Olympic Games appearance when his preparations were turned upside down by a condition causing irregular heartbeats. Normal life may be on pause, but he won't be giving up on hitting the Tokyo start line just yet, as he reveals how he has tried to keep upbeat despite missing out on WTCS Leeds, home of one of his greatest performances.