Long-course triathlete, Nikki Bartlett, was a medal-winning GB University rower before an injury led her to join a friend in a half-IRONMAN triathlon. Despite having little to no swimming, cycling or running experience, she caught the bug and switched from rowing to age group triathlon in 2012. Within three years, Nikki had turned pro and in 2019 she won her first full distance pro title at the notoriously hard IRONMAN Lanzarote, winning by a four-minute margin. Although most of the 2020 race reason was cancelled, in a small window of opportunity last year, the Helvellyn Triathlon was able to go ahead and Nikki added the win to the long list of podium spots she has amassed.

Alongside competing as a professional triathlete, Nikki is also a guide for visually impaired GB para-triathlete, Alison Peasgood, and is looking to compete in this year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. 

In this Q&A, Nikki chats through a typical training week, the challenges of being a professional athlete in the pandemic, and the mental side of her training, amongst other things.  

Record holder Katie Spotz is an endurance sport junkie who ran her first marathon at the age of 18. Since then she’s taken on a long list of monumental physical challenges, including swimming the 325-mile Allegheny River in 2008, becoming the youngest person at the time (2010) to row the Atlantic, and the first person to run the length of Maine (137-miles) in 2020. And when she broke her pelvis in a bike crash just a week before a world record attempt at the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2011, she switched up her plan and completed it on a hand bike instead!

Katie, who is 33, does all of her endurance challenges to raise money for charities dedicated to providing clean water solutions to hard-hit areas across the world. Find out more in our Q&A below.

Counting down the days until you can travel safely again? Me too. When the time comes, I’ll be booking a summer escape to Morzine in the French Alps, after falling in love with the area during a summer stay at luxury chalet, Chilly Powder. Here’s why you should make it your European go-to for everything cycling, hiking, running, MTB and adventure…

Like many of you, I’ve been wistfully daydreaming of simpler times when the world was easily accessible and the only masks required on holiday came with a snorkel, so I’m introducing a new series to Lessons in Badassery alongside my usual interviews – adventure travel! After months of homeschooling, I’m longing for the clean air and grounding peace of the mountains, so a write-up is a nice way for me to relive our Morzine experience whilst sharing our new favourite adventure destination with you.

© bulk

I’m thrilled to have current Heptathlon world champion and European indoor pentathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson as today’s interview! As a heptathlete, Katarina competes across seven different events – 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m sprint, long jump, javelin and 800m track – and is currently gearing up for this summer’s rescheduled Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In this quick-fire Q&A, 28-year-old KJT, who is a bulk ambassador, fields my questions on the emotional rollercoaster that is preparing for an on-off-on Olympics, the challenges of training across seven events during lockdown, and the importance of goal-setting.

Team USA triathlete Khadijah Diggs didn’t find her calling in triathlon until 2012 when she first dipped her toe into the sport as a novice at the age of 40 (on a fixed-gear bike she only bought the week before!). Since then, she’s made up for lost time and is a regular fixture on the USA long course Triathlon and aquathlon teams, after becoming the first African-American woman and Hijabi to represent the USA in both disciplines.

Despite her success, Khadijah has faced hurdles just to compete wearing her head-to-toe race kit and hijab – even when wearing her official and approved USA triathlon kit. Undeterred, she has made it her mission to change the landscape of triathlon and encourage more Muslim and African-American women to take up the sport – more recently through launching the Diversity Inclusion Syndicate by Khadijah (D. I. S. K.) which we cover in more detail in the Q&A below.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that this triathlon trailblazer is a mother of 10 who works fulltime and is homeschooling! Go, Khadijah!

© INCUS

Gold medallist swimmer Claire Cashmore made her Paralympic debut at the 2004 Athens Paralympics when she was just 16. Born without her left forearm, breaststroke swimmer Claire won gold and silver at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Looking for a new challenge after Rio, Claire turned to paratriathlon with great success and is the current ITU Paratriathlon World Champion. 

Now, with her sights set on Tokyo 2021, Claire, who is an INCUS athlete and uses her INCUS Nova device to track her training, took time out of her preparations to talk about navigating the Covid rollercoaster, switching to multisport from swimming, and the challenges of training in lockdown.

When Suzie Cave decided to try her hand at modern pentathlon, the 30-year-old had never touched a pistol or a fencing sword and had no swimming experience. As a result, she had to learn three new sports from scratch and juggle training for five (modern pentathlon includes fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and running). All whilst working a fulltime job.

The dedication paid off and Suzie quickly qualified for the GB team, going on to win gold at the Masters World Championship. In 2019, the 361° ambassador made her debut in the newly created category of triathle, winning the title of British Senior Triathle champion before taking bronze in the European Championships and fifth in the Triathle World Championships.

Find out more about triathle along with Suzie’s training and experience in our interview below.

Hi friends, 

As I’m currently having to homeschool my kids whilst working (*exasperated face*), I’m taking a brief break from posting. Check back on the 10^th Feb when normal service should resume.

I have lots of awesome women in the pipeline 🙂

Stay safe!

Katie x

© Twila Federica Muzzi

Trinidadian Pro cyclist and two-time U23 Pan American Champion Teniel Campbell is only 23 but has three pro stage wins (Tour of Thailand and Kreic Breizh Elite Dames), Olympic qualification and a new contract with Team BikeExchange to her name. However, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s been an easy ride for the talented cyclist.

From training at 5am before school to being denied funding for the 2017 Caribbean Championships (from which she returned with two gold medals), Teniel has overcome countless hurdles to achieve her cycling dream. After being talent-spotted and invited by UCI president David Lappartient on a scholarship to the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland in 2018, Teniel has continued to pursue her cycling goals with relentless drive and a smile on her face.

I’m thrilled that Teniel, who is based in Girona, agreed to answer my questions about her journey to pro cyclist.

Dutch athlete Nienke Oostra competed in elite MTB and Xterra triathlon until she was forced to retire from racing in 2017 due to chronic nerve pain. After being devastated by the decision, she shifted her focus to longer adventure challenges whilst still living in pain.

Last year she embarked on a world-first mountain bike traverse of the Himalayan Trail high route in Nepal and became the first person to mountain bike the 1800km journey from west to east, completing it in 8 weeks. When her adventure partner quit early on in the ride, Nienke forged ahead solo, overcoming extreme hike-a-bike conditions, vertical landslides, 12-hour ride/hike-a-bike days and temperatures as low as -20C. In total, she climbed 85,000 vertical metres of ascent during the 8-week journey, which she shares more about in the interview below.