Review of TriNations Top 2021 Podcasts to listen to right now!
If further lockdown and restrictions come into play during the festive season and you find yourself running out of things to do why not give some our great 2021 TriNation podcasts a listen!
Who of us foresaw a future were, for many people, the only human interaction for entire days this year would be through visual/audio systems. The year 2021, has seen the pandemic dominate our lives since we’ve all had to adapt to a ‘new normal,’ although what that looks like is different for every person. But for many the outcome has been a year spent extensively online.
It’s a testament to the effort and dedication of host Luke Howard and co-host Andrew Woodroffe that we are able easily to fill a list of 28 great TriNation podcasts for this year. And what a line-up of guests we had in 2021 from elite athletes, past and present Olympians, World Champions, Legends of Sport and Industry Entrepreneurs who speak openly about their personal experiences so as to encapsulate whether on their personal journey they basked in glory or drowned in success.
Our podcasts have always been about peeling away the layers of elite sports performance to reveal the hidden side of the triathlon journey from a personal point of view. We hope you will find something on the list that appeals to you during this festive period.
15 DEC 2021
50. Richard Varga We marked the 50th episode of the ‘TriNation Podcast’ when we got to speak to no doubt the most dominant swimmer in triathlon, Slovakian Richard Varga. Richard holds the record for the most lead out swims in the now known World Triathlon Championship Series circuit and it was great to hear his experience on competing in two Olympic games, training alongside the Brownlee brothers, family-athlete life + much more!
24 NOV 2021
49. Arild Tveiten We were able to speak Arild Tveiten coach of Norwegian viking Kristian Blummefelt who broke the Ironman world time record in style in Cozumel! We went in depth to the preparations for his debut in the distance before tracking back to the start of Arild’s coaching career and taking a once innocent squad of young triathletes including the likes of Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Lotte Miller to a star studded Norway team dominating the triathlon world.
14 OCT 2021
48. Georgia Taylor-Brown & Jess Learmonth We were delighted to bring on two extremely successful female triathletes who are currently at the top of the sport. Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jess Learmonth have had a whirlwind few months with success at the Olympics bringing home gold and silver medals for GB and then onto the rising Super League Triathlon 4 week spectacle. This chat is light hearted but gives a great insight into what goes on in the lead up to the Olympics, the day itself and the aftermath.
25 SEP 2021
47. Triathlon Catch Up In a busy few weeks of triathlon racing with many events happening all across the world from WTCS races, Super League Triathlon events and of course the Ironman World 70.3 championships. Luke and Andrew sat down to have a chat, giving their full reviews on the races.
9 SEP 2021
We decided to head into the world of triathlon photography and Podcast Host Luke had a sit down with World Triathlon content producer and photographer Tommy Zaferes. Tommy gave an insight into his travelling lifestyle covering triathlon’s biggest races, being married to Tokyo Bronze medalist Katie Zaferes and the journey he has been on with her as well as his opinion on the introduction of more styles of triathlon racing.
3 SEP 2021
45. Sam Laidlow We were joined by French Ironman athlete Sam Laidlow, winner of this years Tradeinn International Triathlon. He then subsequently went on to secure his Kona spot for 2021 after a second place finish at Ironman Bolton. Sam spoke about changing the perception of the sport showing that the young generation can compete at the longer distance.
9 AUG 2021
44. Russell White On this podcast we welcomed on an actual Tokyo Olympian – Russell White. Russell competed in the men’s individual race finishing 48th. He had a turbulent time leading into the games having to make a last ditch attempt to qualify by racing multiple weekends in a row. He did come through achieving his dream of qualifying for the Olympics and he gave us an insight into the weeks leading in, the race itself, how everything runs at the Olympic village… oh and of course THAT boat incident.
30 JUL 2021
43. Ironman Debut On this podcast episode we discuss with co-host Andrews about his recent completion of his debut Ironman in a sub-9 hour performance which included a 2.50 marathon running time. Hear how an elite balances work with training, how Andrew went about preparing for his Ironman as well as any advice for those looking to do their first one!
25 JUL 2021
42. Tokyo OLYMPICS Special At the start of the Olympic triathlon, Host Luke and Co-Host Andrew decided to put together a short episode of their favourites and predictions for the races and how they think things will pan out.
23 JUL 2021
41. Natalie Van Coevorden Luke and Andrew were delighted to welcome on Australian Natalie Van Coevorden. Natalie told us her life and story in triathlon which has recently taken a knock after the controversial selection of the Australian Olympic team which left Natalie off the squad. We wanted to use this platform not only for Natalie to give her opinion on the matter but also to explore where she will go from here and her ambitions going forward.
22 JUL 2021
40. James Teagle We brought on British athlete James Teagle who recently won Outlaw 70.3 half Holkham. James has been a dominant force in the junior and under 23 scene growing up. He has been battling to make his mark as a senior in short course racing but has recently made the decision to make the move up a distance. James spoke about his struggles of not being funded, his life in triathlon and how he thinks moving up a distance will help prolong his triathlon career.
15 JUL 2021
39. Alistair Brownlee our guest – 2X Olympic Champion – Alistair Brownlee spoke to us about the recent release of his new book ‘Relentless’ which looks into the minds of the sporting elite. We also found out Alistair’s reasons for deciding to fight for another Olympics. We wanted to do this podcast differently and tried to find out more about Alistair himself and his mindset that makes him the true champion that he is. Enjoy!
6 JUL 2021
38. Ross Murdoch We got an insight into the world of Olympic swimmer Ross Murdoch! Ross is most remembered for his emotional win at a home games in Glasgow 2014 and is now just days away from competing in his second Olympic Games in Tokyo. We learnt how he overcame adversity, a dip in his mental health and how he is aiming to produce as good a performance as possible out in Tokyo.
14 JUN 2021
37. Barbara De Koning We brought on a junior triathlete from the Netherlands who is currently dominating the junior triathlon scene – Barbara De Koning. Barbara has won the last two Junior ETU cups in Caorle and Olsztyn. We heard about her Youth Olympics experience, how she used lockdown to better herself as an athlete and how she is challenging herself by racing in the senior ranks already as well as much more. This is a great listen into the life of a junior athlete trying to break through the ranks!
10 JUN 2021
36. Lotte Miller We were delighted to welcome on Lotte Miller. Lotte is the front runner to take the one and only spot for the Women’s Norwegian Olympic team. Hear about her career from Junior through to the senior ranks and now racing on the WTCS circuit. We also get a glimpse of the Norwegian training culture, squad environment and how they nurture young athletes and give them every opportunity to rise to the top in the sport.
1 JUN 2021
35. Morgan Pearson We welcomed on American and recently qualified Olympian Morgan Pearson. After his great race race out in Yokohama and most notably his run through a pack of 30 athletes to finish on the podium we were able to find out how Morgan has risen through the ranks of triathlon at a rapid pace after only joining the sport in 2017. Get an insight to his college running days, his day to day training and how he felt his brother by his side all the way to that Olympic spot.
12 MAY 2021
34. Chris Perham Our guest was Chris Perham – Super League Triathlon athlete, British Duathlon Champion and ETU Indoor Triathlon Champion. His career is certainly continuing on an upward trajectory and he spoke to us about his journey as a triathlete to get to where he is today. Hear about the British triathlon system, the French system, his mindset and so much more!
26 APR 2021
33. Scott Meenagh The story on this episode is a truly inspirational one. Our guest for our 1 year special podcast was Scott Meenagh – Paralympian, Former 🇬🇧 Paratrooper and current Para Nordic skier. Scott lost his legs and his close friend when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) while serving in Afghanistan at the age of 21. Since then he has used sport to turn his life around starting with the Invictus Games before eventually becoming a Paralympian.
8 APR 2021
32. Sophia Green Sophia Green joined us as the guest. Sophia raced at the 2019 World Junior Championships and is a front runner to secure qualification for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as she begins what is a crucial 2021 season. We heard about her career to date, how figure skating was a big part of her life before triathlon and her recent superb performance at the Podium 5K after over a year of no racing!
3 APR 2021
31. Beth Potter We chatted with Scottish triathlete and recent Super League Triathlon Arena Games winner Beth Potter. She spoke to us about making the switch from pro running to pro triathlon and how it’s taken four years to fully make the transition. She also shared details on her plans to reach the next Commonwealth Games as well as the Paris Olympics in 2024.
27 MAR 2021
30. Podium 5K Build Up A short and sweet episode as Luke and Andrew discussed upcoming racing ahead that includes the Olympic Marathon trials, Super League Triathlon and the renowned fast Podium 5K which host Luke has entered. They talk about the importance of race preparation after so long out and why age is just a number!
15 MAR 2021
29. Emma Carney. We headed back to the 90’s for this episode bringing on 2X World Champion Triathlete Emma Carney. Emma recently released her autobiography where she talks about her whirlwind of a life, including the famous moment that she was sensationally left out of the 2000 Olympics Australian Team. She gave us an insight into the book, what it covers and how a heart condition was to cut her career tragically short. She has since moved into coaching and gave us an outlook of how she is putting past experiences into coaching.
9 MAR 2021
28. Ollie Turner We welcomed Super League Triathlon athlete Ollie Turner who is currently ‘living it up’ in the sunshine of Barbados during lockdown, as he currently enters his eighth week training out there. Our conversation with him brought an insight into the Super League athlete lifestyle, training with Cardiff University triathlon squad, Commonwealth Games 2018 and his hopes for the future!
4 MAR 2021
27. Parcours Wheels On this podcast Luke welcomed on Dov Tate, the owner and founder of Parcour Wheels. With prices seeming to rise more and more within the cycling industry as each year passes, Dov felt he saw a gap in the market for creating reasonably priced wheels that don’t break the bank. Dov spoke about the development of Parcours Wheel sets to get them to where they are today, working with Nottingham Trent University to develop their wheels further, rim brakes vs disc.
6 FEB 2021
26. Non Stanford On the podcast we welcomed on 2013 World Triathlon Champion and Rio Olympian Non Stanford. She spoke openly about her career, lockdown and her recent relocation for the time being to sunny Australia.
3 FEB 2021
25. INCUS Performance On this episode of the podcast Luke sat down with Managing Director of Incus Performance Chris Ruddock. Incus performance is a sports engineering company developing premium wearable technology and analytics for Swimming & Triathlon sports. Chris spoke his background in performance engineering, the Incus Nova product, Alistair Brownlees’ involvement in the company amongst other topics.
30 JAN 2021
24. Henri Schoeman On the podcast we were delighted to welcome on Olympic Bronze medalist Henri Schoeman! We spoke to Henri about his training through the pandemic, his journey through triathlon and his year coming up which of course includes the all important Tokyo Olympics which we hope to see go ahead despite challenging times.
And finally the last episode that led us out of 2020 into 2021.
21 DEC 2020
23. Vincent Luis CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! We were delighted to bring on 2x world champion the number 1 ranked triathlete in the world Vincent Luis! What a conversation we were able to have surrounding Daytona, Joel Filliol, the Olympics and much more!
Look out for more TriNation Podcasts coming your way in 2022.
(Cover photo – credit König & Meyer)
