Olympian Lucy Hall is known for being one of the fastest swimmers in the sport of triathlon.

LUCY HALL has been competing in triathlon since the age of eight. With the support of her parents early achievements included winning the National Junior Aquathon when she was 13 and being selected to represent Great Britain in the European Youth Triathlon Championships in Italy, Finland and Spain where she took gold in 2006 and bronze in 2007 as part of relay teams.

In this exclusive interview Lucy talks to us about her experiences of the London 2012 Olympics as well as some of the phenomenal success she’s had in races over the last year. Read on to feel inspired by her passion for triathlon and her determination to reach the highest accolades possible in the sport.

When did you start swimming and how important were your family in supporting you to pursue your passion for the sport?

I started swimming at a young age, starting off with swim lessons aged six, moving onto a local swim club aged eight, then after a few suggestions from the coaches at the club I moved to City of Coventry Swimming Club and worked my way up through the different squads in the club.

I lived in South Leicestershire during my City of Cov years so the commute to the pool was 45 minutes one way. I swam before school on a Monday and Wednesday so it was a 4.15am alarm to get to the pool for 5am! My mum and dad played a huge part in my success through the years. If it wasn’t for them taxiing my brother and I to and from the pool for training and giving up their weekends to sit in a hot stuffy leisure centre while watching us compete in swim galas, I don’t think I would be doing triathlon as an elite athlete.

Lucy pictured out on the Madrid Marathon course.

When did you start competing in triathlons and how hard was it to compete and persevere in this sport at such a young age?

I was eight years old went I competed in my first triathlon. I went to watch my dad race in a triathlon and the organisers had set up a kids triathlon to run alongside the event. I took part and have loved competing in triathlons ever since! Sport played a massive part in our family outings/activities. As a family I would say we’re pretty sporty. When my brother and I would swim at Coventry my mum would swim in the public lanes or go to a yoga class. When we ran with our local running club my dad would come along and run too. Sport was just part of our routine so never felt like a chore or a burden.

Lucy takes her place on the podium at the 2015 Geneva ETU Triathlon European Championships.

What were your early sporting successes and how long was it before you found yourself being selected for Great Britain?

When I was 13 I qualified for the national swim championships for the 200m breaststroke, that was my first national time. when I was 12 I was nationally ranked in the top 15 for running 1500m track. I made the GB team in triathlon at the age of 14 as part of the youth relay team this then led to other youth international races including the youth Olympic festival in Australia 2009.

In which triathlon discipline do you feel you excel at the most and where do you have to work hardest?

I think my strengths lie in the swim/bike combination, I like to race hard from the gun! I have had a few stress responses over the years and that’s down to my body not dealing with the work load. I know my running economy needs/ can improve so that’s been the goal over the last year. It’s hard though when your juggling three disciplines!

Lucy celebrates after winning the Madrid ETU Marathon in 2016.

What have been you biggest accomplishments to date and which exciting places in the world have triathlon and swimming taken you?

I think being selected and competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The atmosphere was amazing and racing at a home games won’t happen again for me so just to part of it was incredible.

I’m really proud of my 2015 Euro U23 championship title. I literally went for it from the gun and soloed the whole race. It was tough and I knew I was carrying an injury so I was slightly anxious the whole race, especially when I started to cramp on the run with 4km to go. Turns out I had a stress fracture in my right lessor trochanter. Not ideal!

Do you have the ambition to one day compete at the Olympics and if so how hard are you working to fulfil that dream?

I’d love to be selected for an Olympics again, it’s an event that’s completely different to any other sporting event in the sporting calendar. I’m really patriotic so being apart of the GB teams is always an ambition of mine. I work hard day in day out – all I can do is stay consistent in training, work on my weaknesses, build on my strengths and keep enjoying what I do.

Lucy pictured with Jessica Learmonth after finishing second to her at the Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup.

What would your words of advice or motivation be to anyone inspired by your achievements and working hard on their own sporting goals?

I would probably answer this like I did the last question to be honest!Stay consistent in training, work on your weaknesses, build on your strengths and keep enjoying your day to day training routine.