Legends of Triathlon – Sarah Springman, CBE – Unrivalled in Stature!

Sarah Springman is unrivalled in stature, knowledge, expertise and credibility in World Triathlon. Her legacy is far more than just a story of sporting prowess, Springman is a woman whose influence and impact – in a male-dominated sporting world – may be greater than the sum of her titles which makes highlighting this influential woman’s contribution to Triathlon all the more worthwhile.

Springman (born 26 December 1956) represented Great Britain at the elite level of triathlon from 1984 to 1993, and competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. During her elite career she amassed twenty ETU European Championship medals,(all distances) including three individual and five team golds, before turning her focus to long distance racing finishing fifth at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in 1985 and 1987 and the Nice International Triathlon in 1985. She was the ITU Winter World Triathlon Champion in her age-group in 2006 and a bronze medallist in the Vancouver Sprint Triathlon in 2008. 

You may have expected the story end there. But not so, Sarah Springman is one of those rare athletes whose achievements only continued to climb far bigger than her athletic performances on a global Triathlon stage.

Springman first became a Board Member of the British Triathlon Association between 1984 and 1985 before founding and co-Chairing the International Triathlon Union Womens Commission between 1990 and 1992. From there she was elected as the ITUs Vice President, a position she held until 1996 whereupon she stood as Honorary President of the British Triathlon Association until 2004. In 1997 she was presented with the prestigious Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to sport. She was a member of the GB Sports Council and UK Sport from 1993-2001. 

She was inducted into the ITU Hall of Fame in 2019.

She received the ITU Lifetime Achievement Award for her incredible contribution to the sport of Triathlon. As well as her extensive work with ITU and pivotal role in campaigning for the sport’s inclusion in the Olympic programme, Springman also has a stellar record as a National Federation President for the British Triathlon Federation, delivering the hugely successful Olympic Games triathlon in London’s iconic Hyde Park and paving the way for subsequent WTS events as a legacy of those memorable Games.

After she stepped down as President of British Triathlon in December 2012 after celebrating Team GB’s first triathlon medals won at an Olympic Games, Springman was again recognised and honoured for her service to sport by being promoted to Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). The recognition did not stop there as she was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards in London in 2013. She again served as ITU’s Vice-President since 2008 and was instrumental in campaigning for paratriathlon’s successful inclusion in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. She is also a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Sustainability and Legacy Commission. 

On 18 August 2016, Springman was chosen as a presentation official at the Olympic triathlon medal ceremony, at which brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee received gold and silver medals for Team GB in Rio de Janeiro. When added to the numerous world-class appearances as an elite athlete, including the 1990 Commonwealth Games triathlon competition, there can be few people who have left such an indelible mark on the sport of triathlon and deserve such an accolade as Sarah Springman.

Outside of Triathlon, Springman’s life is equally, if not more impressive. Born in London in 1956, she was educated at Wycombe Abbey, where she was later a Governor from 1993 to 1996 and studied engineering sciences at Cambridge University after which, she worked for five years as an engineer on various geotechnical projects in England, Fiji and Australia.

She then resumed her academic career at Cambridge, earning her master’s and doctoral degrees. 

She is currently the rector of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich having been a full professor of geotechnical engineering at ETH Zurich since 1997 and heading the Institute for Geotechnical Engineering for several years, as well as being a member of the Swiss Science and Technology Council (2000–2008).   

For women athletes who don’t know where to turn after the lights dim on their athletic career, look no further than Sarah Springman as your role model – she has made that journey and is truly unrivalled in stature.