Lucy Charles-Barclay out of World Ironman Champs and Sub8

One of the world’s top triathletes Lucy Charles-Barclay has today announced that her “2022 season is on pause” after an MRI scan discovered a stress fracture in her left hip.

Posting on Instagram, the three-time Ironman World Champs runner-up, reigning 70.3 European champion and 70.3 world champion said:

“Sport can be cruel sometimes. Unfortunately an MRI scan on Friday confirmed I have a stress fracture in my left hip and I will need some time to heal. For now the 2022 season is on pause & my focus is on rest, recovery & healing.

“I would like to thank my team & sponsors at this time for their incredible support. Together we will get through this & I will come back stronger.”

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A post shared by Lucy Charles-Barclay (@lucycharles93)

The social media-savvy sporting star also added that she would be sharing her journey to recovery via her hugely popular YouTube channel, with her first video live now:

In the video she says: “It’s obviously devastating that this year had the potential to be the biggest of my career with two World Championships at the Ironman distance, my Sub8 attempt, and the 70.3 Worlds at the end of the year.

“So obviously Utah is out of the question. The Sub8 project is out of the question, but I definitely will be there in some capacity supporting the other athletes, maybe even commentating on the event.

“And then after that, again, I can’t really look at a timeline. I’m probably going to miss most of the PTO races, which again is such a great thing for our sport, but I’m not going to be able to do those this year.

“And then in the later half of the year, I can’t really promise that I’m going to be racing. I just don’t know where I’m going to be, and I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on myself.

“For any athlete, having an injury is like the worst thing in the world. And it’s definitely difficult to mentally deal with because any sports person has highs and lows in their career, but I really do feel like I’ve come from literally the highest point of my career to the absolute lowest. So this is obviously hard to deal with in itself.”

We wish Lucy a full and speedy recovery.

Top image: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for Ironman

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Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.