As triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay crossed the finish line in Slovakia last weekend, she could scarcely believe what she had just done.
The 28-year-old became 2022 World Triathlon Long Distance Champion but the circumstances behind her victory made it all the more impressive. The Brit hadn’t raced for 11 months after suffering a hip stress fracture - an injury that could be ‘career ending’ if you’re unlucky or you don’t manage it properly - and her outing in Slovakia was her first competition back.
As comeback races go, you’d be hard pushed to find a better result than that. While 2022 has proved to be an incredibly challenging period so far for Charles-Barclay, all the hard work and determination certainly seems worth it now.
