Welsh star has had a tough ride with plenty of bumps and bruises but could be on the threshold of glory in Hyde Park
One of Non Stanford's most vivid memories is sitting in the bath as a nine-year-old and asking her mum whether she might make it as an Olympic gymnast. "Honestly dear, no," came the dismissive response. "OK, I'll have to try something different then," Stanford shot back, before taking up swimming, where she spent so much time clinging to the side of the pool "my teacher was ecstatic when I got my 10-metre badge".
Fifteen years and several different sports later, Stanford is not an Olympian – yet – but when she plunges into the Serpentine at Hyde Park next Saturday to swim 1500m, the first leg of the triathlon – which also involves a 40km bike ride and 10km run – she has a live shot at becoming world champion. It has been some ride for the girl who had never been on a road bike until 2008.
Even last year when, having missed out on the Olympics, she became the world under-23 champion the 24-year-old from Swansea did not expect such a rapid acceleration through the senior ranks. Stanford wrote on her blog that she hoped to lose the "U23" part of the title but she did not expect a potential upgrade to come so quickly.
Stanford stands third in the world rankings, 13 points behind the American Gwen Jorgensen and five behind Germany's Anne Haug. Given that 1,200 points are awarded to the grand final winner in London, with 1,100 for second and 1,027 for third, a victory, or a higher-place finish than her rivals in the final race of the season, will crown her world champion.
"It's crazy it's so close," she says. "I'm going to give it my all but, if I don't come out as No1, then I can't be disappointed. The season has gone better than I ever expected."
Stanford is an overnight success nearly two decades in the making. She became a strong enough swimmer to compete in the national championships for her age group and was later an elite teenage cross-country runner. But after two years of growing pains and strains and too much time on the physio's table, she switched to triathlon aged 18 while at the University of Birmingham and raced up the rankings – once she had got to grips with the basics of riding a bike.
"I first went on a road bike five years ago," she says. "So that took a bit of getting used to. That said, I was just three when my dad first took the stabilisers off my first bike when we were on a family holiday in Pembrokeshire. I didn't know how to stop, so I rode into a dustbin."
That she missed out on London 2012 came as no surprise to her and it is not something she dwells on. "We were told from a long way out that unless we had three girls with the potential to podium we would be taking a team to help [then world No1] Helen Jenkins," she says. "I never filled that criterion."
So what has changed? Two things. Stanford's body has adapted to the wearying grind of 40 hours of hard training each week and she has overcome the minor chronic fatigue syndrome that blighted her 2012 season. "Last year I was doing the same volume in training but I was always tired," she says. "Now I can handle it. Ultimately, though, it has been moving to Leeds to be with the elite British triathlon squad in 2011 and benefiting from the fantastic set-up that has made the difference."
Stanford's longest training day, on a Wednesday, would have most people wheezing for mercy by lunchtime. It starts with a 90-minute swim at 7am, followed by a 75-minute run after breakfast, then a four-hour bike ride in the afternoon and an hour's gym session in the evening. That she trains alongside the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny – gold and bronze medallists at London 2012 – only spurs her on.
"We swim together every day and have running sessions together," she says. "They have been fantastic. I've learned from them how hard you have to train – but there is definitely something special about them as well. They are not just Joe Bloggs who train hard. They have that extra something too."
The Brownlees are known for their love of cakes, a training template Stanford does not adhere to quite so strictly. "I am probably a bit more careful but we do so much training people would be surprised how much we eat," she says, laughing. "And sometimes on a long ride that means cakes and scones."
Stanford's first world series victory, in Madrid, followed by more podium finishes in 2013, confirmed her leap into the world's elite but there have been a few bumps too. In July she suffered a heavy fall off her bike in the world series mixed relay triathlon in Hamburg and spent the night in hospital. She tweeted pictures of her back, which was ripped and red raw as if flayed by a cat o' nine tails.
An MRI scan later revealed more damage: a fracture of the radial head of one arm and ligament damage in her wrist. It meant she had to swim and bike on her turbo trainer using one arm for a fortnight. But a second-place finish in Stockholm last month showed she had recovered and she believes she has improved since. In London she will aim to prove it.
She has not thought about what being world champion would mean to her but knows questions about her unusual first name – along with a few puns – would follow. Non might be a headline writer's dream but its genesis is non-extraordinary. "My parents used to holiday in Pembrokeshire in St David's and St David's mother was St Non," she says. "They got it from there."
If Stanford needs any advice on how to handle fame she will speak to Dame Kelly Holmes. "I was one of the original On Camp With Kelly girls back in 2004, and she has had a significant influence on my career ever since," she says. "She is a remarkable person."
But could she emulate Holmes by winning gold in Rio 2016? "Everyone talks about the podium but just qualifying would be an incredible achievement," she says. "It would be a dream but it's going to be tough."
Much, one suspects, like the grand final in Hyde Park. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
One of Non Stanford's most vivid memories is sitting in the bath as a nine-year-old and asking her mum whether she might make it as an Olympic gymnast. "Honestly dear, no," came the dismissive response. "OK, I'll have to try something different then," Stanford shot back, before taking up swimming, where she spent so much time clinging to the side of the pool "my teacher was ecstatic when I got my 10-metre badge".
Fifteen years and several different sports later, Stanford is not an Olympian – yet – but when she plunges into the Serpentine at Hyde Park next Saturday to swim 1500m, the first leg of the triathlon – which also involves a 40km bike ride and 10km run – she has a live shot at becoming world champion. It has been some ride for the girl who had never been on a road bike until 2008.
Even last year when, having missed out on the Olympics, she became the world under-23 champion the 24-year-old from Swansea did not expect such a rapid acceleration through the senior ranks. Stanford wrote on her blog that she hoped to lose the "U23" part of the title but she did not expect a potential upgrade to come so quickly.
Stanford stands third in the world rankings, 13 points behind the American Gwen Jorgensen and five behind Germany's Anne Haug. Given that 1,200 points are awarded to the grand final winner in London, with 1,100 for second and 1,027 for third, a victory, or a higher-place finish than her rivals in the final race of the season, will crown her world champion.
"It's crazy it's so close," she says. "I'm going to give it my all but, if I don't come out as No1, then I can't be disappointed. The season has gone better than I ever expected."
Stanford is an overnight success nearly two decades in the making. She became a strong enough swimmer to compete in the national championships for her age group and was later an elite teenage cross-country runner. But after two years of growing pains and strains and too much time on the physio's table, she switched to triathlon aged 18 while at the University of Birmingham and raced up the rankings – once she had got to grips with the basics of riding a bike.
"I first went on a road bike five years ago," she says. "So that took a bit of getting used to. That said, I was just three when my dad first took the stabilisers off my first bike when we were on a family holiday in Pembrokeshire. I didn't know how to stop, so I rode into a dustbin."
That she missed out on London 2012 came as no surprise to her and it is not something she dwells on. "We were told from a long way out that unless we had three girls with the potential to podium we would be taking a team to help [then world No1] Helen Jenkins," she says. "I never filled that criterion."
So what has changed? Two things. Stanford's body has adapted to the wearying grind of 40 hours of hard training each week and she has overcome the minor chronic fatigue syndrome that blighted her 2012 season. "Last year I was doing the same volume in training but I was always tired," she says. "Now I can handle it. Ultimately, though, it has been moving to Leeds to be with the elite British triathlon squad in 2011 and benefiting from the fantastic set-up that has made the difference."
Stanford's longest training day, on a Wednesday, would have most people wheezing for mercy by lunchtime. It starts with a 90-minute swim at 7am, followed by a 75-minute run after breakfast, then a four-hour bike ride in the afternoon and an hour's gym session in the evening. That she trains alongside the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny – gold and bronze medallists at London 2012 – only spurs her on.
"We swim together every day and have running sessions together," she says. "They have been fantastic. I've learned from them how hard you have to train – but there is definitely something special about them as well. They are not just Joe Bloggs who train hard. They have that extra something too."
The Brownlees are known for their love of cakes, a training template Stanford does not adhere to quite so strictly. "I am probably a bit more careful but we do so much training people would be surprised how much we eat," she says, laughing. "And sometimes on a long ride that means cakes and scones."
Stanford's first world series victory, in Madrid, followed by more podium finishes in 2013, confirmed her leap into the world's elite but there have been a few bumps too. In July she suffered a heavy fall off her bike in the world series mixed relay triathlon in Hamburg and spent the night in hospital. She tweeted pictures of her back, which was ripped and red raw as if flayed by a cat o' nine tails.
An MRI scan later revealed more damage: a fracture of the radial head of one arm and ligament damage in her wrist. It meant she had to swim and bike on her turbo trainer using one arm for a fortnight. But a second-place finish in Stockholm last month showed she had recovered and she believes she has improved since. In London she will aim to prove it.
She has not thought about what being world champion would mean to her but knows questions about her unusual first name – along with a few puns – would follow. Non might be a headline writer's dream but its genesis is non-extraordinary. "My parents used to holiday in Pembrokeshire in St David's and St David's mother was St Non," she says. "They got it from there."
If Stanford needs any advice on how to handle fame she will speak to Dame Kelly Holmes. "I was one of the original On Camp With Kelly girls back in 2004, and she has had a significant influence on my career ever since," she says. "She is a remarkable person."
But could she emulate Holmes by winning gold in Rio 2016? "Everyone talks about the podium but just qualifying would be an incredible achievement," she says. "It would be a dream but it's going to be tough."
Much, one suspects, like the grand final in Hyde Park. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.