Lucy Charles-Barclay tells us about her difficult decision to leave the RONMAN World Championship

The British triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay, known for her impressive career in triathlon, found herself in a difficult situation when she had to withdraw from the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, to be held on 30 September 2024.

High expectations for the World Championship

Charles-Barclay, who was defending the title he won the previous year in Kona, arrived in Nice with high expectations after completing an intense five-week training camp in Lanzarote.

However, just one day before the competition, a series of setbacks led her to make the difficult decision not to compete.

The race week was marked by unexpected events. In a conversation he shared on his YouTube channel, Lucy revealed that she suffered food poisoning on Wednesday, which left her weak and dehydrated.

Despite this, he remained confident in his ability to recover and compete. “I knew I had time to recover, get the energy and electrolytes I needed,” he said. Charles-Barclay.

The perfect storm: food poisoning and muscle injury

In addition to the setbacks typical of the week before the competition, she suffered from gastroenteritis that affected her for several days.

Although weakened by dehydration and lack of energy, Charles-Barclay I was confident that I would be able to compete despite this, thinking that I would have enough time to recover my strength.That wasn't a problem, I was fine, I knew I could compete with that; enough time to recover and be ready."He explained.

However, on Friday, during a light warm-up run, the situation worsened dramatically.

. Just two kilometers from the start, she felt a cramp in her calf, but this was not just any cramp, but a pain that alerted her immediately. “SI got tense and worried. It's not the same calf that I injured in Kona, it's the other leg. It came out of nowhere; I thought 'this doesn't look good, I'm pretty worried.'“,” he confessed.

An ultrasound revealed a Type 1C muscle strain, a diagnosis that forced her to make a crucial and heartbreaking decision.

The medical advice was ambiguous: the injury could either improve or worsen. The risk was too great, especially after the unfortunate experience suffered in Kona the previous year.

A painful but necessary decision

"I decided it wasn't worth the risk.“he explained Charles-Barclay. "I had several calls with my team, my manager, my doctors and physiotherapists. We came to the conclusion that it was not worth taking any risks after last year's injury.

It's been months and months of work and rehab to get that leg stronger, and I'll probably have to keep doing it to keep it strong, so I wasn't willing to take any chances this time.”.

Looking Ahead

After witnessing the victory of Laura Philipp, Charles-Barclay, despite the difficult situation, was satisfied with his decision. “It was an extremely difficult decision, but I think it was the right one. Watching the race was tough, I wondered if I had made the right decision, but I definitely stand by the decision I made, as difficult as it was yesterday.r ".

For the moment, the champion is focusing on her recovery, leaving her sporting future in the dark, with no clear idea of ​​what her next steps in the world of triathlon will be.