© Ryan Sosna Bowd

What’s it like to plan your racing comeback, take fourth at your first race in three years and then see your race plans crumble around you? Olympian and former triathlon world champion Helen Jenkins gives me the lowdown, as we discuss her fourth-place finish at Ironman Dubai in February, and the subsequent worldwide race cancellations that followed.

Helen, who is mum to one-year-old Max and 2.5-year-old Mali with husband and coach, Marc, is now juggling the demands of being a fulltime ‘lockdown’ parent alongside her elite athlete training. We caught up over the phone to discuss Dubai, future racing, lockdown training challenges and the realities of parenting two small kids while working.

© Romilly Locklyer

When GB triathlete and 2 x ITU world champion, Helen Jenkins, lined up for the London 2012 Olympic Games, she was a favourite for a podium. Yet, unbeknownst to most people, she’d been unable to train for weeks – or even walk the day before the race – due to excruciating knee pain derived from an on-going back issue. Incredibly, Helen raced her way to 5th place in London, which is astonishing given the pain she was in.

Since then the three-time Olympian has had spinal surgery and become a mum to Mali (almost 2) and, more recently, Max, who was born in May. Here, Helen talks about the emotional cost of being injured at the peak of your career, her goals for the future, and the challenges (and joys!) of balancing family and training.