Lucy Partridge is a coach based in Bournemouth who raced for the Great Britain Age-Group Team in 2017 and who supports a number of current athletes to achieve their swim, bike, run goals by representing the team.
Having first taken up triathlon in 2010, Partridge decided she wanted to test herself to see if she could qualify for the Age-Group Team and, at the second time of trying, she qualified and raced at the Duathlon European Championships in Spain.
“In 2017 I qualified at the Bedford Duathlon and I went to Soria in Spain,” she commented. “I loved it. It was a fantastic experience, the communication, the friendliness. I went on my own and I never felt I was on my own at the event.
“I had nowhere to stay and I found a hotel through someone and I met people for dinner, there was a fantastic after party, so the whole experience was amazing. It just feels very special to be a part of it.”
Partridge’s husband and a number of athletes she coaches have also represented the team, with her recommending it as a great way for them to challenge themselves.
“I’ve had a couple of athletes go to the world’s which is really rewarding,” she added. “I think people like to see how far can they get, what’s the best they can possibly do to push themselves to the absolute limits.
“That’s what I love with the coaching is to help them to get to their absolute best and how do they come out across the board. If they’re competitive and winning races at local events, it’s how can you measure up on that world scale and what a great opportunity to do that.
“As a coach I want to keep pushing the people that I’m coaching, but also a lot of triathletes are very driven people, so it’s what’s the next goal, what’s the next goal?”
Racing for the Great Britain Age-Group Team provides British Triathlon Home Nation members with the opportunity to challenge themselves to that next goal by competing against other top athletes in their age category domestically to qualify for the team, but also against those from across Europe and around the world at Europe Triathlon and World Triathlon Championships.
Qualifiers take place in sprint and standard distance triathlon and duathlon, with the opportunity to submit times to qualify for longer distance and other multisport championships.
To find out more about Age-Group racing, click on the button below.
