The incredible woman who gave us the mixed team relay

Dame Sarah Springman is the former President of British Triathlon Federation and vice president of the International Triathlon Union, now World Triathlon. A formidable athlete, she was unbeaten in the UK for five years in the 80s and has won more national titles than any other British triathlete.

An engineer by trade, Sarah spent 25 years in Switzerland, latterly as rector of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, and started as Principal of Oxford University’s St Hilda’s College in February. She was awarded a damehood in the 2022 News Year Honours.

Over to Dame Sarah Springman, one of triathlon’s leading proponents…

I was always competitive as a child and wanted to be the best at something. I was brought up with a tennis court in the back garden and a tiny pool so we were in and out of the water the whole time. When I went to boarding school in Buckinghamshire we had sport every day: lacrosse, tennis, and the Godstowe game which was a mixture of rugby and netball – completely crazy but I absolutely adored it!

I discovered running when I was working as an engineer in Fiji in the early 80s. I wanted to win the Fiji fun run, 250 Fiji dollars and a trip to Sydney. My erstwhile coach was a Fiji Times journalist who knew sod all about running to the extent that after five weeks I’d run my first marathon. But I won, and again the following year with a personal best of 36:56. I don’t think I’ve ever run a faster 10k.

I did my first triathlon – the first triathlon in Britain – at Kirtons Farm in Reading in 1983. It was to celebrate passing my exams to become a chartered engineer. It was a 1-mile swim, 40-mile ride and half-marathon run. I’d never swum in a lake, and borrowed a bike that was stuck in top gear. I finished fourth behind Julia Kendal who was a world champion modern pentathlete.

I was approached by [former ITU president] Les McDonald on Ali’i Drive after the 1988 Ironman and kept out in the Hawaiian sun for hours. Les recruited me and I led the women’s action plan in 1989 for “equality of opportunity, recognition and reward” that made sure triathlon had the right approach, although we had to keep fighting for it. It’s a phrase I’ve used many times since.

I took part in the Commonwealth Games triathlon in New Zealand in 1990 when it was a demonstration event. It was extremely well organised, and I was really fit until I got a stinking cold. I finished 12th which was not where I wanted to be.

I still train like a nutcase. I’m not fast and look terrible in my kit, but I still have a resting heart rate under 40 and it helps manage stress

For the 2014 Commonwealth Games, I prepared the document for why the mixed team relay should be included. It was the best event of the Games. Another example of how the sport speaks for itself, but you first need someone speaking up to get it through.

Triathlon gave me a focus and helped change how I operate in daily life. I still train like a nutcase. I’m not fast and look terrible in my kit – not ideal for a narcissistic triathlete – but I still have a resting heartrate under 40 and it helps manage stress.

I would never have become rector of ETH Zurich without having been a sports administrator and volunteer. People are often nervous about voluntary work but shouldn’t be – without realising it you’re learning so much. When you give you don’t expect to receive, but it’s amazing what comes back.

I’m head of house at St Hilda’s which means being responsible for 617 students and 200 members of staff. We provide accommodation, food and academic supervision and try to encourage our students to learn all sorts of interesting things and then kick them out into the world and hope they’ll give us some money later on. We don’t have a balanced budget – which is why my role is also to fundraise.

I haven’t looked recently to see how many indoor rowing world records I still have [Ed – it’s three, 30mins, 60mins and 10,000m], but when I turn 70 I’ll have another go. It’s the sport I’m probably best suited to. In lockdown, I set a British record for the marathon, but I’m not doing another one!

I received an OBE in 1997, CBE in 2012 and now a damehood. This time they sent a letter to British Triathlon during lockdown and when it was opened I only had one day to get my answer in. All of a sudden, I had an O a C and D. But that’s it now.

Top image credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/GettyImages