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Many athletes have medals, but very few have Chrissie’s unique story.
Chrissie Wellington OBE is a former British professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011). She is the first British athlete to win the Ironman Triathlon World Championship, and was undefeated in all thirteen of her races over the ironman distance.
But Chrissie wasn’t destined for sporting greatness. Her journey has been surprising and unusual, grounded in curiosity, bold choices and willingness to explore. Growing up she focused on her studies, and not sport. She was awarded a first-class degree from the University of Birmingham (BsC Geography) in 1998 and a Distinction from the University of Manchester (MA Econ Development Studies) in 2000. Before elite sport, she lived her passion as a government adviser on sustainable development and managed development projects in Nepal. It was in her late 20s that she found triathlon and aged 30 pivoted to become a professional athlete.
After she made the difficult decision to retire as a triathlete, Chrissie spent 12 years as Global Head of Health and Wellbeing for parkrun, a charity that holds weekly community running, walking and volunteering events, with 11million global registrants and about 400,000 participants every weekend. She also has an Intermediate Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Coaching.
Her first book was her memoir A Life Without Limits: A World Champion’s Journey which was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller. Her second book, To the Finish Line: A World Champion Triathlete’s Guide to Your Perfect Race, was published in 2017. In 2021, she co-authored and self-published two fully illustrated children’s books.
She loves to inspire people and founded a local running club as a way of encouraging people of all ages and abilities to be active. On the global stage, together with three professional cyclists, she launched a successful campaign to get a women’s race at the Tour de France.
Chrissie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to sport and charity. She was also named the 2009 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and has Honorary Doctorates from the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol. She is a committed patron to the charity Stand Against MND (Motor Neurone Disease).
Since retiring from professional sport in 2012 Chrissie has done countless endurance events, from cycling sportives, to marathons and ultra-marathons and even a cross country ski marathon or two.
Chrissie lives with her husband, former professional athlete Tom Lowe, and their daughter Esme in a small village in Somerset.
Chrissie thrives on using her platform to inspire individuals, teams, and organisations to find strength in adversity, embrace change, and achieve more than they ever think possible. Her inspirational, uplifting and thought-provoking talks and workshops bring about:
A powerful exploration of what it truly means to operate as your personal best: consistently, sustainably, and authentically.
An inspiring and practical keynote that redefines high performance: not as burnout or constant intensity, but as a balanced, energised, people-centred approach that drives long-term success.
A compelling keynote dedicated to unlocking human potential: individually and collectively. Audiences discover how belief, action, and shared purpose create a ripple effect that transforms teams, communities, and outcomes.
Chrissie delivered a great talk at the RSA conference, it was the talk of the week and we’ve been inundated with requests for the slides. Everyone found it very inspiring and the way it was linked to RSA’s mission and values was ace.
The evening was excellent! Chrissie is such a passionate speaker, and got everyone fired up! The feedback has been brilliant, the amount of conversations on the night about how good she was, was amazing. Also, we have had a mountain of twitter feedback which is some kind of record.
