Liz Blatchford

English triathlete

1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[1]Weight56 kg (123 lb)[1]SpouseGlen MurraySportCountryGreat BritainSportTriathlonTeamUplace-BMCTurned pro2001Coached byMat Steinmetz
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Women's triathlon
Ironman Triathlon World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Kailua-Kona Elite
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kailua-Kona Elite

Elizabeth Julia Blatchford (born 5 February 1980) is an English professional triathlete. She has placed third at the 2013 and 2015 Ironman World Championship.

Career

Blatchford was born in Wilmslow, Cheshire and raised in Perth, Western Australia from the age of one.[2] Growing up she participated in surf lifesaving and by the age of 14 she had started racing in triathlon.[3] She went on to obtain a degree in marine biology from Griffith University.[4]

Blatchford's first ITU race was at the 2000 ITU Triathlon World Championships in Perth competing as a Junior woman and placing 8th. She raced consistently on the ITU circuit from 2001 to 2012 capturing ten podium finishes in either the ITU World Triathlon Series or the ITU Triathlon World Cup series including wins at the 2003 Gamagori World Cup race and the 2005 Salford World Cup race.[5] Despite growing up in Australia Blatchford made the decision to race for the United Kingdom in 2004. This was done based on her desire to qualify for the 2004 Olympics and that the British women at the time were not as strong as the Australian women. Additionally, her coach, Brett Sutton, was not supported by Triathlon Australia.[6] However, in her years of ITU racing she missed qualifying for three Olympics. Missing the 2012 Olympic cut was difficult for Blatchford as a younger, inexperienced Lucy Hall was chosen over her and Jodie Stimpson so that Hall could play a domestique role.[7][8]

In 2012 Blatchford began to step away from ITU racing and towards non-drafting, long-distances races, a choice based on her age in comparison to the younger ITU athletes and for the desire to have more autonomy with her race and training schedule.[6] Her first year away from ITU she took first place at Ironman 70.3 Boulder and Ironman 70.3 Cozumel and in 2013 she had first places at Ironman 70.3 Busselton and Ironman Cairns. She capped off that year with a third place podium in her debut in Hawaii at the 2013 Ironman World Championship.[9] She followed that performance up with a 10th place at the 2014 Ironman World Championship, where she received a four-minute littering penalty, and then another third place podium finish at the 2015 Ironman World Championship. Her other long course results include winning Ironman Cairns three years in a row from 2013 to 2015.[10]

Results

Blatchford's results include:[5][11]

Results list
Year Event Place
2018 Ironman Subic Bay 1
2018 Ironman 70.3 Busselton 1
2017 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship 5
2017 Noosa Triathlon 7
2015 Ironman World Championship 3
2015 Ironman Mont-Tremblant 2
2015 Ironman Cairns 1
2015 Ironman 70.3 Vietnam 2
2015 Ironman 70.3 Busselton 2
2015 Challenge Batemans Bay Half 2
2015 Ironman 70.3 Geelong 1
2014 Ironman Western Australia 3
2014 Challenge Forster Half 1
2014 Noosa Triathlon 4
2014 Ironman World Championship 10
2014 Ironman 70.3 European Championship 5
2014 Ironman Cairns 1
2014 Ironman 70.3 Mallorca 3
2014 Ironmam 70.3 Putrajaya 2
2014 Huskission Long Course 1
2013 Noosa Triathlon 5
2013 Ironman World Championship 3
2013 Hy-Vee Triathlon US Championship 9
2013 Ironman Mont Tremblant US Championship 4
2013 Ironman Cairns 1
2013 Ironman 70.3 Busselton 1
2013 Samui Long Course Triathlon 2
2013 Huskission Long Course 1
2013 Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship 7
2012 Noosa Triathlon 3
2012 Ironman 70.3 Mandurah 2
2012 LA Triathlon 4
2012 Ironman 70.3 Cozumel 1
2012 Hy-Vee 5i50 US Championship 8
2012 Life Time Tri Chicago 4
2012 Ironman 70.3 Boulder 1
2012 5i50 New York 2
2012 5i50 Liverpool 4
2012 5i50 Klagenfurt 2
2012 World Triathlon Series Madrid 10
2012 World Triathlon Series San Diego 16
2012 World Triathlon Series Sydney 18
2012 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 4
2012 Geelong Sprint Triathlon Premium Oceania Cup 3
2011 World Championship Grand Final Beijing 8
2011 World Championship Series Kitzbuehel 27
2011 ITU World Cup Monterrey 13
2011 World Championship Series Sydney 8
2011 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 7
2010 Triathlon World Championship Grand Final Budapest 19
2010 World Championship Series London DNF
2010 World Championship Series Hamburg 18
2010 Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup 9
2010 World Championship Series Madrid 8
2010 ITU World Cup Ishigaki 2
2010 World Championship Series Sydney 12
2010 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 3
2009 World Championship Grand Final Gold Coast 10
2009 World Championship Series Yokohama 4
2009 World Championship Series London 22
2009 World Championship Series Hamburg DNF
2009 Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup 5
2009 World Championship Series Tongyeong 13
2009 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup 9
2008 Hy-Vee ITU World Cup 5
2008 Triathlon World Championships Vancouver 17
2008 ITU World Cup Madrid DNF
2008 ITU World Cup New Plymouth 5
2008 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 16
2007 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba DNF
2007 Triathlon Oceania Championships Geelong OTU 5
2006 ITU World Cup Hamburg DNF
2006 Triathlon World Championships Lausanne 13
2006 Triathlon European Cup Geneva 4
2006 ITU World Cup Salford 7
2006 ITU World Cup Edmonton DNS
2006 Triathlon Oceania Championships Geelong OTU 5
2006 ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 2
2006 2006 Commonwealth Games 6
2005 ITU World Cup Beijing 9
2005 Triathlon World Championships Gamagori 8
2005 Triathlon European Championships Lausanne ETU 14
2005 ITU World Cup Salford 1
2005 ITU World Cup Madrid 5
2004 ITU World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2
2004 ITU World Cup Cancun 5
2004 ITU World Cup Gamagori DNF
2004 ITU World Cup Madrid 2
2004 ITU World Cup Salford 3
2004 ITU World Cup Edmonton 7
2004 Triathlon Pan American Cup Bellingham 1
2004 ITU World Cup Mazatlan 5
2004 Triathlon Oceania Championships Devonport OCA 1
2003 Triathlon World Championships Queenstown 17
2003 ITU World Cup Athens DNF
2003 ITU World Cup Madeira DNF
2003 ITU World Cup Madrid DNF
2003 ITU World Cup Nice 3
2003 ITU World Cup New York 6
2003 ITU World Cup Edmonton 11
2003 ITU World Cup Gamagori 1
2003 ITU World Cup Tongyeong 2
2003 Triathlon Oceania Cup Devonport 6
2002 Triathlon World Championships Cancun 14
2002 ITU World Cup Makuhari 3
2002 ITU World Cup Hamburg 8
2002 ITU World Cup Lausanne 6
2002 Triathlon European Cup Ghent 5
2002 ITU World Cup Tiszaujvaros 10
2002 ITU World Cup Corner Brook 6
2002 ITU World Cup Edmonton 8
2002 ITU World Cup Gamagori 10
2002 Triathlon Oceania Cup Canberra 10
2001 Triathlon Asian Cup Muju 3
2001 ITU World Cup Yamaguchi 7
2001 Triathlon World Championship Edmonton 40
2001 Triathlon European Cup Forte dei Marmi 2
2001 ITU World Cup Rennes 11
2001 ITU World Cup Ishigaki 6
2001 Triathlon Oceania Cup Devonport 7
2000 Triathlon World Championships Perth – Junior 8

References

  1. ^ a b "Uplace-BMC Athlete Profile". uplacebmctriathlon.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  2. ^ Heppenstall, Ian (13 November 2014). "Liz Blatchford Shares Her Shortcuts to Long Course Success". World Triathlon Corporation. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Liz Blatchford Fighting For Olympic Spot". Competitor Group, Inc. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Athlete Profile – Liz Blatchford". British Triathlon. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Liz Blatchford ITU Results". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Liz Blatchford: Why I switched to long-course racing". Triathlon & Multisport Magazine. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  7. ^ Krabel, Herbert (30 June 2012). "Liz Blatchford is moving on". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Liz Blatchford seeks legal advice over Olympic triathlon omission". BBC. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. ^ Krabel, Herbert (29 October 2013). "Podium storming Liz Blatchford". Slowtwitch.com.
  10. ^ Carlson, Timothy (14 June 2015). "Luke McKenzie and Liz Blatchford victorious at Ironman Cairns". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Results". lizblatchford.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

External links

  • Official website
  • ITU Profile