Charlie Lewington-Loades has qualified to represent Great Britain in her age group at the World Triathlon Championships taking place this October. Here she reveals her long journey overcoming anorexia to being a GB athlete.
When Charlie Lewington-Loades waits at the start line at the World Triathlon Championships in Torremolinos, Spain this autumn it will be the culmination of a difficult journey that saw her overcoming anorexia to become a top triathlete.
The 43-year-old Sprowston local is now a strong and healthy personal trainer and sports therapist who runs a personal training studio with her wife, Sarah, in Attlebridge.
But as a 16-year-old, she very nearly lost her life to anorexia.
Had she been told then that she would one day be good enough to compete for her country in her age group, she would have told you that was completely impossible.
In fact, Charlie only competed in her first triathlon in 2013 because a personal training client bought her an entry thinking it would give her a challenge.
This saw her taking part in the then Fritton Lake Triathlon with a borrowed wetsuit, a loaned bike and no proper triathlon wear. However, she very quickly realised this was a sport she loved and something she wanted to do more of.
Fast forward a few years and in 2019 Charlie took part in only her third standard distance triathlon in Brighton to try to qualify for a place in the GBR Age Group Team for the European Championships.
Despite swimming further than she needed to in the sea swim, she still managed to qualify and secure a place for her first international event.
The event was postponed due to covid and so in 2022, Charlie competed for the first time in the GBR kit at Olsztyn in Poland.
She said: “My main aim was to not finish last in the GBR Team or in my age group!”
In August 2021, Charlie competed in the London Triathlon and finished 2nd in her age group securing her first World Championship spot, again for the standard distance.
As a result, she was part of the GB Team that competed in the World Triathlon Championships in Pontevedra, Northern Spain, last year.
The cost of competing on the international stage is something that sadly amateur GB athletes receive no assistance with at all. Everything from race entry fees to the GBR triathlon kit which athletes must wear, has to be purchased by the athletes themselves.
So far, Charlie has secured sponsorship from R J Keelers Butchers in Horsford and has been supported by clients, friends and family who have held many fundraisers in order to help gain the funds needed to send her to the Championships this year.
This season has started with a bang for Charlie.
Her first race this season was the Yarmouth East Coast Triathlon at which she secured her first ever podium position as 3rd female.
At her second race of the season, the Stradbroke Triathlon, she did even better and secured her second ever podium place as 2nd female overall.
Her third race took place at Windsor where she was looking to qualify to compete for Great Britain in her age group at the 2025 World Triathlon Championships in the Sprint Distance, which will take place in none other than Sydney, Australia next year.
This race saw another excellent performance with Charlie finishing 2nd in her age group giving her automatic qualification for next year. Two weekends later she raced at Rutland where she also managed to secure a qualifying time for next years’ European Championships too.
On Saturday 13th July, Charlie competed at Upton in Worcestershire in another World Qualifier but this time for the Aquabike (the swim and bike segments but no run).
Again, she finished strong and secured another qualifying position giving her two events to compete in at next year’s World Triathlon Championships in Sydney, Australia.
Charlie is not a part of any local triathlon club as she struggles to fit in training around her work as a self-employed personal training and sports therapist.
Instead, her achievements are solely down to her utter determination and commitment to her sport.
Charlie added: “I feel privileged that I get to take part in something I love and represent not only GBR, but also Norfolk.
“I always have and always will give 110pc for as long as my body will let me.
“When I look back at my 16 year old anorexic self it’s hard to believe that I am where I am now.
“With anorexia, it’s not something that just disappears; everyday I make a conscious decision to eat well and to fuel my body properly for my sport”.
Charlie is in need of local corporate sponsorship for both this years’ Championships and also next year’s which are much further afield and therefore have exponentially higher costs. Sponsors logos appear on all triathletes kit and on all social media posts on platforms such as Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn etc. If you can help Charlie with this, please get in touch with her by emailing Charlie.beyondinspiredfitness@gmail.com
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