Richard the GB Triathlete

I'm sure Richard won't mind me saying that 18 months ago, he was nothing more than a dirty fat smoking bloater. In a remarkable turnaround, Richard swapped his addiction to nicotine with an addiction to exercise. In a matter of weeks he had shed his excess pounds and regained his trim pre-university physique.

Within a year he was competing in triathlons, which as I'm sure you know, involve swimming...



cycling...


and running...


Recently, Rich had a shocker in a triathlon that could have lead to his call-up to the GB team, where he attached his cycling shoes onto his bike pedals the wrong way round, and then in an attempt to make up the time on the bike section, he cycled the wrong way - twice. Despite these momentous cock-ups he still managed to secure his spot as first reserve for the team.

Thankfully, it seems as though someone may have been injured, or something, so yesterday Rich got the call-up to represent Great Britain at the World Age Group Championships for Triathlon in Lausanne, Switzerland at the end of August.

So, fat bloater to Great Britain athlete in eighteen months. Not bad going, perhaps there's hope for us all. If anyone wants to hear more about how he did it, check out Richard's blog! He did emphasise that it's really for his family to update them on his progress, but it's definitely worth a look. He agrees though, that really he should have called it 'lycra heaven'.

Anyway, congratulations mate!