From Corby to the Gold Coast, hopes Dundee student Triathlete
Published On Thu 26 Mar 2015 by Roddy Isles
A University of Dundee student who switched from Skiing to Triathlon will compete in her first race of the season on Sunday (29th March) as she builds towards her Commonwealth ambitions.
Accountancy student Sarah Stephen, (23) has hopes of competing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, but first she has a British Duathlon Championships in Corby to contend with.
Duathlon is the Run-Bike-Run cousin to the Swim-Bike-Run Triathlon and Sarah is showing great prowess in these and in Aquathlon, the Swim-Run format. Despite only taking up the sport a year ago, she won the Scottish Student Sport Duathlon within a month and ended the season with second place at the Scottish Aquathlon Championships.
This weekend’s 5km run, 20km bike and 2.5km run to finish may seem a far cry from the Australian sunshine, but will provide another helpful marker of her progress.
“Last year I made a rapid improvement,” she said. “When I was younger I competed for Stirling Swimming Club until I was 16, and since I started triathlon, my swimming has improved massively, as has my running, which is my weakest discipline. In my head I haven’t really done anything yet, but this season it will be good to see what I can actually do.
“I took a two year gap after school and worked as a ski instructor in Canada and Australia. When I got back, I started cycling with my dad. I did that for two years, mainly Scottish road races and a few of the British women’s series then I entered a novice triathlon, totally loved it and got the bug.”
Raised in Crieff and now living in Stirling, Sarah trains alongside triathlonscotland’s national squad at its University of Stirling base.
Sarah, in her third year at Dundee, is one of 150 students to be supported by Winning Students, Scotland’s national sports scholarships for student athletes. Through the programme she receives funding support and the academic flexibility required to perform at the highest level in sport and studies.
Dundee is one of 16 Scottish universities which form the Winning Students network, alongside 15 colleges. Students at network colleges and universities benefit from a dedicated co-ordinator to ensure they can balance their studies and sport effectively.
She added: “Winning Students makes a massive difference and if it wasn’t for their support I wouldn’t have been able to afford to go away on this year’s triathlonscotland training camps. It takes the financial pressure off me and for the camps they funded everything and all I had to do was pay for my food.
“The University of Dundee is very supportive. When I’m away training they give me extensions on my essays. I do a lot of university work from home, but they are really supportive when I am there and also online if I ever need to get in touch with anyone.”
Sarah will be joined in this weekend’s British Duathlon Championships by University of Stirling students George Goodwin, from Rugby in Warwickshire and Fergus Roberts, from Northallerton in North Yorkshire, both of whom are also supported by Winning Students.
For any further information, please contact Winning Students Communications Manager David Christie on 01786 466653 or email david.christie1@stir.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
- Attached photographs show Sarah Stephen individually and after winning the Silver medal at the 2014 Scottish Aquathlon Championships. Left to right Sarah Stephen, Natalie Milne and Emma Lamont
Winning Students
Winning Students is Scotland’s national sports scholarship programme for student athletes. Managed by the University of Stirling as Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence and funded by the Scottish Funding Council, more than 150 high performance student athletes in member colleges and universities across the country are supported with scholarships of up to £5,500 each year. For more information, visit: www.winningstudents-scotland.ac.uk