“The majority of the people won’t even know who I am, so it's like… 'Hi, I'm Jess, but I am a completely different athlete'. So it's a new me… but it still is me!”
And so begins the second episode of the new season of Dare to Dream, as we follow the eight Hot Shot contracted athletes and their journeys from World Triathlon to T100 racing. Watch the premiere from 8pm CEST on World Triathlon YouTube and TriathlonLive.tv.
It is a typically self-effacing statement from one of the sport’s most down-to-earth personalities. A Yorkshire girl brought up on a diet of Brownlee-inspired triathlon training since discovering the sport in her twenties, the 2010s was an era like no other for swim-bike-run in the north of England.
“I'm very lucky to be from Leeds and be a part of the era that has, I think, put triathlon on the map and put Leeds on the map because of Al and Jon (Brownlee) basically. Once they started, it was so inspiring and seeing that legacy, like basically creating a Leeds hub that wasn't there before them. It created the structure that we all still basically follow now.”
A lot has happened since the early days coming through that system. As Jess’ results at the top level continued to improve heading towards Tokyo 2020, events would conspire to put some major obstacles in her way.
There was that Test Event disqualification with Georgia Taylor-Brown, Covid delays, then a broken back sustained after falling off her mountain bike in late 2020 that meant she had to ‘prove’ her Olympic selection all over again. Fortunately for Jess, and Team GB, silver at WTCS Leeds in 2021 did just that. Two months later she had an Olympic gold medal around her neck from the Mixed Team Relay.
“I never had a big injury like that… to then have time off and get back in time for the biggest race of your life were a bit stressful to be honest.”
“The relay, although it was very nerve wracking, I loved going first because after my leg… I knew that they'd do it, so it was just great watching Yee in the final leg, just running round. I just thought, this is unbelievable, I can't believe it's happened because I didn't even consider a medal until the night before”
The next bump on the road was a femoral neck stress fracture all the way through the hip, the diagnosis of which was far from straightforward, the impact of which were long-lasting, far beyond the eventual six months on crutches. As Jess began to rehab towards racing, a more joyful bump arrived in the form of her baby, Fred.
Now, understandably, priorities may have shifted somewhat, but the competitive edge has not blunted and the call of T100 racing was loud.
“I think to be in the T100 environment in my first proper race back is like a godsend really. Going back to something that I used to do… you're kind of comparing yourself a lot. The T100 definitely helped me with being motivated because your mindset changes a bit when you have kids.”
All of which brings the episode right up to the tough T100 debut in Singapore, derailed somewhat not just by the heat and the stresses of a debut, but a calf tear three weeks out.
From there, though, it has been all systems go, including back-to-back races in San Francisco and Vancouver, this time with Fred and partner Jon, and a podium in the latter that she never saw coming.
Watch the full episode from 8pm CEST on World Triathlon YouTube and TriathlonLive.tv
