{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/677be9d1b2b69b369b557d7d/6a5f4a131e0054561557b315?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Lucy Charles-Barclay: Ironman World Champion - Knocked Down, Come Back Stronger","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/677be9d1b2b69b369b557d7d/1784629447973-5b7609d2-7da7-4af6-82d9-e8884277de3d.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>What does it take to be the best in the world and keep coming back every time life knocks you down? Lucy Charles-Barclay is one of the most dominant athletes in the history of long-course triathlon. A 2023 Ironman World Champion, two-time 70.3 World Champion, and the fastest swimmer in the sport, Lucy's journey to the top has been anything but straightforward.</p><p><br></p><p>She started as an elite competitive swimmer, trialled for the London 2012 Olympics, and when she didn't make it, walked away from the sport entirely. She then signed up for an Ironman almost on a whim and what followed is one of sport's most remarkable stories of reinvention.</p><p><br></p><p>But it's not just the victories that make Lucy's story so compelling. It's everything in between. Stress fractures, a calf tear on mile one of the marathon at the very race she went on to win, a life-threatening DNF in Kona when her husband and coach Reece pulled her from the course.&nbsp;Then, just four weeks later she was back on top of the podium as 70.3 World Champion in Marbella.</p><p><br></p><p>And through all of it, she recently received a diagnosis of coeliac disease that explained years of unexplained injuries and finally gave her the answers she'd been searching for.</p><p><br></p><p>This is a conversation about resilience, reinvention, the power of a great team, and what it really means to never stop coming back.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Missing out on the London 2012 Olympics and how it accidentally led to triathlon</li><li>What a peak training week really looks like - 30 hours, 5am starts and very little sleep</li><li>The coeliac disease diagnosis that changed everything and explained years of injuries</li><li>Being pulled from the Kona World Championships by her husband</li><li>Four weeks later winning the 70.3 World Championships in Marbella when the world had written her off</li><li>The mental strategies that get her through the darkest moments in a race</li><li>What still drives her at the very top of the sport</li><li>Her big goal for October 2026 - returning to Kona to go one better</li></ul><p><br></p><p>🎧 Follow Lucy on Instagram @LucyCharles93 and on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@LucyCharlesBarclay</p><p><br></p><p>🌐 Follow When Life Gives You Lemons — available on all podcast platforms</p>","author_name":"Emma Levy"}