2020 will be remembered for far more than sporting achievement, and Lisa herself has had to deal with personal heartache as well as the trials presented by a COVID-ravaged triathlon calendar.

The passing of her grandfather will be firmly in her mind as she bids to provide a fitting tribute to him in Florida next month.

Personal pain

“The challenge of 2020 has been mainly for the world. Personally, my grandfather has passed away. He was probably my biggest fan out there, so that was quite difficult.

“He just loved sport and he loved being proud. He loved the racing mentality and spirit, so I think I probably got a lot of genes from my grandparents. He would love to see me go out and smash it.”

Lisa was speaking as she appeared in the PTO’s new documentary series ‘Unbreakable’, which gives a fascinating insight into the lives of elite triathletes, ahead of the Daytona showpiece.

The 35-year-old Swede sums up the title of the series perfectly – her partner Calle Friberg explained: “Lisa is unbreakable. The body no, but the head is probably unbreakable!”

Daytona opportunity is like nothing else

Lisa, an Olympic silver medalist and ITU World Champion back in 2012, is really fired up for her appearance at the famous Daytona International Speedway®.

“With the head I have, I am always trying really hard and I can go really hard. You have to try to find a way to go a little bit faster, just to have that like the sniff of the front of the race.

“I love big races, but this is like extreme, this amazing arena for triathlon that I haven’t seen anything like anywhere else in the world.”

To add to the iconic surroundings, Norden will also have the strongest field ever to contend with. She gave a fascinating insight into those moments on the start line in the final seconds before battle commences.

Preparing for battle

“I love being on a start line. You have to be there and be ready. Everything else is really quiet and you can feel and sense the nervousness and the tension. I would hear my heartbeat and I would hear my thoughts.

“You can see the clock is ticking down and getting closer and closer to it. Breathe. Relax. Unleash yourself when the start gun goes.”

Norden knows that there will be other triathletes in the field who have been suffering as she has in this terrible, pandemic-affected year.

“Most times if you have problems, you don’t want to talk about them too much. Sometimes it is nice to put the pressures on your shoulder and tell people you have problems, but most times I think you only get only like 80% of the truth and you don’t know other athletes’ struggles to get to the line.”

The ultimate victor at Daytona will need to display many qualities over the 100km distance to reach the tape first, as Lisa was quick to emphasise.

“It takes a lot of willpower and a lot of sacrifice to get to where you want to be. Believe in yourself winning it until you are so close to the line no one can take it away from you.”

The countdown is truly on now to the PTO 2020 Championship. Lisa and more than 100 other elite triathletes will form the strongest field ever on December 6. The drama will play out in front of a global TV audience and promises epic storylines to elevate the sport to new levels.

The post Unbreakable: From personal pain, Lisa Norden targets a lasting tribute appeared first on PTO.

The 30-year-old British superstar will be among a galaxy of more than 100 world stars who will do battle for a record-breaking $1,150,000 purse over a 100km course at the iconic Florida venue.

The mega event will see a year ravaged by COVID-19 end on the highest notes with an epic battle playing out in front of a global audience, elevating triathlon to new levels. Jonny, for one, cannot wait.

“2020 has been a very strange year for everyone. It is the first time I can remember in my career that I have not had an obvious goal in the short-term coming up.

“What I really wanted to do this year is have a real good challenge. The Daytona race offers that challenge for me.

“The depth of the field is incredible; it’s probably the strongest non-drafting race that there has ever been.”

Alistair ‘an unbelievable athlete’

Jonny will take his place alongside older brother Alistair on the start line next month, and the overwhelming respect he has for his sibling’s elite ability is clear.

“Alistair is an unbelievable athlete. If you want to beat Alistair, you have got to be fitter than him because he is going to suffer more than you and if I could beat him in Daytona, it would be absolutely incredible.”

Jonny’s spectacular career CV already includes Olympic bronze and silver medals, seven ITU World Championship gold medals from under-23 to elite and a Commonwealth Games success in the 2014 mixed team relay.

Making Mexico history

Despite that, many sports fans still remember him for the moment when he was carried over the line by Alistair after collapsing during the latter stages of the 2016 World Triathlon Series final in Mexico.
It is an iconic sporting memory, one which epitomises the spirit of triathlon, of sport, and of family. It is though something which Jonny would rather put behind him.

“Most people probably see me as a person who got carried across the finish line by my older brother.
“I’d like to be seen as someone who has achieved a lot in sport, someone who never gives up, as someone who when I’m on my best form that I am very difficult to beat.”

Embracing the pain

All of the triumphs and all of the medals are the glorious result of the hard work Jonny has put in during his career. They have come at a cost though, notably the femoral stress fracture he suffered in 2015. It was just another reminder of the lurking adversary athletes fear most – injury.

“All endurance athletes, to some extent, are very good at trying to come across as unbreakable. We don’t like showing weaknesses in races or in training.

“In races when you’re against your opposition, you want to make it look easy, you want to make it look like you are not suffering, and in training the same. You don’t really want to show that kind of weakness.

“So, maybe we do take that into our day-to-day life, of hiding things because we are kind of taught not to do that. As athletes, you are taught to basically lie to your body.

“You tell yourself that you can go faster, and you can keep on going. You tell yourself that it is going to hurt and sometimes I really, really embrace and enjoy that suffering.”

More suffering awaits in Florida next month, but Jonny is ready yet again to go through the pain barrier.

You can watch the Brownlee brothers, and more than 100 other world stars, battle it out in the PTO 2020 Championship on December 6. It promises to be an unmissable triathlon feast in front of a global audience, and the countdown is now well and truly on.

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