Being a real professional athlete and making a true living out of the sport for athletes in Triathlon is possible but certainly not common.

Sponsorship such as bike contracts, shoe/kit deals, etc are not that easy to come by unless you are one of the leading athletes competing and doing well at WTS level. Prize money, while available at most levels of the sport, cannot be relied upon as a sole source of income at any level even, for the best athletes, and at any one time it is unlikely that the sport will have any more than around 20 athletes (male and female) on it’s funded World Class Programme.

Watch and listen...

Both Chloe Cook, based in Eastbourne, and James Teagle, based in Loughborough, are non -funded athletes currently working to support themselves racing and training at international level. They have kindly shared their experiences of what it really like to support yourself in the sport.

Chloe Cook

Chloe started in the sport at a young age and as well as competing as a swimmer and runner she quickly graduated to the South East Regional Academy and onto the ENG Programme while racing at Super Series level. At around 17 Chloe took some time out of sport and was well into her degree at Leeds University when the triathlon bug bit again. Chloe quickly gainied GB representation at U23 championship level and with unfinished business in the sport Chloe decided to move back to the South East after finishing her studies in order to realise her triathlon potential.

James Teagle

James started Triathlon from a swim background and almost immediately found himself in  the East Mids Academy and on the ENG Programme before qualifying for the World Junior Champs in 2014, he has also represented Great Britain at U23 level too. Aware part way through his degree that he wanted to spend time focusing on triathlon once graduated, James set about proactively working on the experiences and qualifications he needed to support himself training and racing.