Tough times toughen Lauren Steadman

“I was fully aware that if I gave it my all, and didn’t panic and stayed calm — I’ve done it a lot this year. I’ve hit the times I needed to, so I had confidence in myself.”

When recently crowned 2018 Para triathlon world champion Lauren Steadman described her past two years, the word “tough” was an understatement.

The loss of her grandparents, a toxic relationship and juggling her Masters in business were among the hardships she endured, and that reflected in her competition results.

But 2018 was a new beginning that saw the Brit go undefeated on her way to taking back her world title at September’s World Triathlon Grand Final in Gold Coast, Australia.

“Just everything took a bit of a hit,” Steadman said about the last two years. “This year, I really knuckled down and focused.”

Two changes specifically made a difference: returning to her coach from boarding school Robin Brew, and her training partner Charlotte Bowsher.

“She’s probably the reason that I’ve managed to be so progressive this year,” Steadman said. “Just having someone training with you all the time and pushes you, even when you don’t want to. Like ‘I’d rather stay at home and watch TV.’ And she says ‘nope we’re going.’”

“I don’t think people realise how surrounding yourself with similar-minded people makes a difference to your life.”

Falling short

Steadman was the favourite to win the sport’s first Paralympic gold in its debut at Rio 2016. Her second-place finish, she admitted, was hard to take in.

The following year’s World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, saw a thrilling sprint finish in which she came up four-seconds shy of US winner Grace Norman, again.

“I knew that if I gave everything I had this year, I could probably get the title back again,” Steadman said.

“I think that is the thing with every athlete that when you are at an elite or world-class level, you really have to train to be the best and everyone is doing that, which makes it a lot harder,” Steadman said.

“I was fully aware that if I gave it my all, and didn’t panic and stayed calm — I’ve done it a lot this year. I’ve hit the times I needed to, so I had confidence in myself.”

Cross-training: dancing

Now that the 2018 season is over, Steadman carries confidence ahead of an important qualification year toward the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Her off-season training will include a fourth discipline outside swimming, biking and running: dancing.

A week after winning the title in Australia, she flew back home to compete in the British TV show “Strictly Come Dancing” where celebrities are paired with professional dancers. Her next competition will be aired live on Saturday (13 October), with the show running until late December.