Olympic focus: Helen Jenkins

On a quest for London 2012 success: Britain's Helen Jenkins

14 April 2012

With the London Olympics looming, Standard Sport talks to British Olympic hopefuls gunning for gold this summer. This week we speak to world triathlon champion Helen Jenkins...

Helen Jenkins will use the same preparation for London 2012 that saw her clinch her place at the Olympics in emphatic style.

The British triathlete was crowned world champion last year but it was her performance in the London leg of the eight-race competition that pleased her most.

The Hyde Park event doubled as a qualifier for the Games and her focus on that race paid off as she claimed her only victory of the 2011 series.

"Winning the World Championships is about consistency [but] for the Olympics it's a one-off event," the 27-year-old told Standard Sport. "Last year, my main race of the year was Hyde Park - that was what I put everything into. That's the race I came away winning. That was good, to have practice where you put everything on the line for one day."

Jenkins is more comfortable with the 10 km run than the 40 km cycle or the 1500 m open-water swim, the three parts of the competition which make up the triathlon.

"The trouble with the bike is that you can be dictated by other people," she explained. "On the run, it's not like that. Obviously you do run in groups and run off different people's paces but it is last-man standing, whereas in the swim and the bike other people are affected by what you're doing.

"Cycling can get physical. I was involved in a crash earlier in the season last year [at the triathlon event in Sydney in April]. Someone moved over and clipped me. Five or six of us came down. I still finished the race, but I've still got an ugly scar on my shoulder. I don't seem to heal very well! It made me nervous for a few races. At least I can't crash on the run."

Her push for gold is aided by her husband and former triathlete Marc, who competed in the 2004 Games and now coaches her. "It's great training with Marc," she added. "He pushes me on, sees how I'm feeling on a day-to-day basis. That's why our coaching relationship works so well."

The British triathlon team is in a healthy position, particularly with the success of the Brownlee brothers, Jonathan and Alistair, who have both met the selection criteria for London 2012. And Jenkins believes their success has a positive influence on the rest of the team.

"It's a happy team," she said. "It's a good environment. We've got really supportive staff. Alistair and Jonny's success have inspired a lot of the team to achieve. It adds to a very good team spirit moving forward to this big year for everyone."

Jenkins acknowledges that much will be expected of her and the Brownlees, but she will not get carried away by the attention.

"Everyone knows what you've got to do," added Jenkins, who finished 21st on her Olympic debut in Beijing. "It's a hard sport. You've got to train a lot. You've got to be massively tough. And you've just got to get on with it. All three of us know that there is a lot of attention focused on us. The best thing to do is not talk about it, just get on with what we're doing. That's the best strategy."

Helen Jenkins has been supported for the last three years in her quest for success this summer by GE Capital. Helen and the Brownlee Brothers are members of the GE Great Britain Elite Triathlon Team

MORE ABOUT

Hyde Park

Olympics

Olympic Stadium

Olympic focus: Helen Jenkins

Read More