'I went from full-time job to world triathlon top 20 after dreaming of teaching'
When Fenella Langridge left university, she expected to end up as a teacher or in the military, but has instead risen through the Ironman triathlon rankings to knock on the door of the world top 20.
The longer distance isn't part of the Olympic programme in Paris, where Team GB will be looking to build on an impressive medal haul from the Tokyo games. Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown both took individual silvers, while there was a gold medal in the mixed team relay.
Langridge's task is a little different, with the 31-year-old preparing for Challenge London on August 6 followed by the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in the autumn. She finished sixth in Kona last year, her debut in the competition, and is now aiming higher after coming a huge distance - literally and figuratively - to reach this point.
"I graduated Cardiff Met [University], I was still enjoying training too much to let it slide, and I still I suppose had that ambition to get as good as I can be," Langridge tells Mirror Sport. "But obviously at the same time I had to support triathlons and support my life while not living at home, so I had a variety of jobs.
"I personal trained, worked in bike shops, did a stint in a law firm. They were great and I think looking back they taught me many things I used in my day to day life now as a full-time athlete.
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"In my final year at university I put the three [disciplines] together and started competing. When I was younger I swum semi-competitively and did multi-sport events, biathlons and stuff, but my main focus when I was growing up was hockey.
"I just enjoyed sport, I did everything, being active and outside, but it wasn't until that final year of university that I finally caught the triathlon bug and saw the opportunity.
"When I was training at university I was training alongside full-time athletes and I kind of put one and one together and thought 'if they can do it maybe i can do it'. Before that point I didn't even think it would be possible. It was never a dream or an ambition - I thought I was going to be a teacher or go into the military or something else when I was growing up."
Fenella Langridge has excelled in the 70.3 Ironman format (Alex Caparros/Getty Images for IRONMAN)For many casual viewers, the most familiar triathlon distance will be the 51.5km covered at the Olympics. However, the longer 70.3-mile route - more than double the Olympic distance - is more common for ironman athletes.
Challenge London's elite race will be closer to what Langridge is used to. It begins with a 1.9km swim, followed by an 80km cycle and then a 21km run.
Just as crucially, it's an opportunity to compete in the capital, at a time when the UK only has a handful of top level races remaining. Langridge laughs when she mentions the luxury of being able to cycle on closed London streets, but seems energised by the prospect of competing on a course which she recalls from earlier in her career when she was still a short-course athlete.
She gives credit where credit is due, praising Yee and Taylor-Brown as well as older torch-carriers including Vicky Holland, Non Stanford and the Brownlee brothers. On a personal level, though, the decision to turn pro came with the decision to move up to longer distances.
"It's probably the best decision I made in terms of my mental health and my career, and I don't think I've looked back since," she says. "The first few years was surviving and getting through each year, but now it's definitely a career and I'm ranked top 13 in the world, so it was the right decision and it's definitely a distance that suits me.
"I'd say the majority of age group racing is centred over that long distance so it's good to open up your eyes to that," she adds. "Hopefully the ironman or the challenge middle distance racing will have as much appeal or as much exposure and show that it's accessible for everyone."
Langridge took part in the Ironman World Championships for the first time in 2022, finishing sixth (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN)
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While the appeal of the London course is clear, Langridge has also had the luxury of travelling the world. As well as Hawaii, she has competed in Mallorca ("one of my favourite races") as well as remote parts of France, Italy and the United States.
"It's the bit I love about triathlon but it's also the most stressful, especially during Covid and things like that," she says. "There are points when you're in the middle of a 24 or 48-hour trip across the world that you wish there were teleporters, but once you get there, you see somewhere new and experience the cultures... it's the places but also the people you meet along the way.
"I've got friends in all corners of the world and it's amazing. I guess with triathlon, because they don't take you to places you'd normally think about going, you explore different parts of countries and places that wouldn't be on a normal list.
"I always get drawn back to some of the European races just because some of the little villages and countrysides are so picturesque. Stateside, once you're over there the world is endless, you can be up in the mountains or by the sea or swimming in lakes and rivers."
It's a far cry from her early 20s, attempting to compete while working regular jobs on the side. Still, after going from strength to strength as a late bloomer, the decision to take the plunge and turn pro is one she doesn't regret one bit.
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