Since starting the podcast in 2017, I've been fortunate to speak with quite a few Olympic Gold medallists. It’s even more fun when you have known them since before that victory and observed their progress.   Today’s guest is Leeds-based triathlete, Jess Learmonth. I've known Jess for quite sometime, and I'm so pleased to be chatting with her today! About 8 or 9 years ago she started swimming with our Masters group at the Survival Saturday session. 2 hours of pain overseen by our enthusiastic coach, Alan Hutchinson. Jess went right into the top lane and then carried on. As you’ll hear in the show she was getting back into the pool after a 6 year absence. She’d started to dabble in triathlon and, because of the huge engine she built as a younger swimmer, she progressed very quickly. It wasn't long before she was selected for British Triathlon funding and a pathway through to the elite squad.   Arguably the strongest swimmer in the sport, Jess often emerged first from the water, and as one of the best cyclists, she then set the tone on the bike, hammering away at the front. As you’ll hear, running was a struggle for Jess. The ‘floppy ankles & feet’ required to be a good swimmer definitely do not help with running. In the conversation there’s a great message from Jess’ run coach Malcolm Brown about the value of consistency in training. Please listen out for that one. Jess and I also chat about:   The brutality of swimming squads for young athletes and why it “drained the life" out of Jess Why triathlon swimming seems so easy in comparison Having patience and building resilience Floppy ankles and not being a natural runner The hot, surreal experience of winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 Pregnancy, motherhood and why there are more important things in life than triathlon To find out more about Jess you can go to: Website - JessLearmonth.com Instagram - JessLearmonth   Jess recommended the book Scientific Training for Triathletes by Phil Skiba   Jess is a keen Leeds United fan and loves this podcast Square Ball: The Leeds United Podcast   **To get a free copy of my personal daily mobility routine, please click HERE** To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk. Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via [email protected]. Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our SWAT High Performance Human tribe here. Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life. If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful. Please click here to support the HPH podcast. Thank you! Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes. Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email [email protected].