Nicola Spirig

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Nicola Spirig Hug
Nicola Spirig Lausanne2011 1.jpg
Nicola Spirig at the Sprint World Championships in Lausanne, 2011
Personal information
NicknameNic [1]
Born (1982-02-07) 7 February 1982 (age 42)
Winkel, Switzerland [1]
Alma mater University of Zurich [1]
Spouse Reto Hug [1]
Sport
SportTriathlon, long-distance running
Coached by Brett Sutton (2006- ) [1]
Updated on 9 August 2018

Nicola Spirig Hug (born 7 February 1982) is a Swiss lawyer and former professional triathlete. She is the 2012 Olympic and six times European champion in women's triathlon.

Contents

Career

Nicola Spirig is a five times Olympian. She was Olympic champion in 2012 and runner up in 2016. She was World Championship runner up in 2010, Junior World Champion in 2001, Junior European Champion in 1999, and Elite European Champion in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. She was the second oldest competitor in the field when she won the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow. [2]

Spirig was born in Winkel. [1] On 4 August 2012, Spirig won Gold in the Olympic Women's Triathlon, [3] winning a close race in a photo finish with Sweden's Lisa Nordén.

In the 13 years from 1998 to 2010, Spirig took part in 72 ITU competitions and achieved 39 top ten positions. In 2010, she won the European Championships and the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, and the silver medal at the World Championship Series triathlon in London. In the overall World Championship Series ranking she place second.

Spirig has also competed as a long-distance runner, finishing second at the Swiss Cross-Country Championships in 2014 and competing at the 2014 Neujahrsmarathon Zürich. [4] She subsequently competed in the marathon at the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zürich, where she finished 24th in a time of 2:37.12. [5] More recently she finished second in the 10,000 metres at the Swiss National Athletics Championships in 2021. In 2015, she and heptathlete Linda Züblin competed at the St. Moritz track in a round of the Bobsleigh World Cup, racing at the invitation of Swiss pilot Beat Hefti alongside him and brakeman Alex Baumann in the four man event, with the quartet placing 27th. [1]

In 2021, she competed in the women's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She also competed in the mixed relay event. [6]

Personal life

Nicola Spirig lives in Bachenbülach [7] and holds a degree in law (lic.iur.). Both her elder sister and her elder brother were high-performance athletes before they started their academic careers. Their parents are teachers of physical education. Spirig is married to former Swiss triathlete Reto Hug. They have a son, born 2013 [8] and a daughter, born 2017. [9] When 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig had her first child, she was not sure whether she would ever return to triathlon. But just 12 weeks after her third child was born in April 2019, the 37-year-old was back competing in the World Triathlon Series Grand Final held in Lausanne, Switzerland between 30 August 2019 to 1 September 2019. [10]

ITU competitions

The following lists are based upon the official ITU rankings and the athlete's Profile Page. [11] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons and belong to the Elite category.

Olympics

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2004-08-25   Summer Olympics Athens, Greece19
  2008-08-18   Summer Olympics Beijing, China6
  2012-08-04   Summer Olympics London, United KingdomGold medal icon.svg
  2016-08-20   Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, BrazilSilver medal icon.svg
  2021-07-26   Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan6

World Championships

Nicola Spirig and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010. Nicola Spirig Helen Jenkins Tucker 1.jpg
Nicola Spirig and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010.
Nicola Spirig at the World Championship Series triathlon in Kitzbuhel, 2010 Nicola Spirig Kitzbuhel 1.jpg
Nicola Spirig at the World Championship Series triathlon in Kitzbühel, 2010
DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2012-06-23  World Triathlon Kitzbühel, AustriaGold medal icon.svg
  2012-05-26  World Triathlon Madrid, SpainGold medal icon.svg
  2012-04-14  Dextro Energy World Championships Series Sydney, Australia5
  2011-08-21  Team World Championships Lausanne, SwitzerlandSilver medal icon.svg
  2011-08-20  Dextro Energy World Championship Series: Sprint World Championship Lausanne, Switzerland16
  2011-08-06  Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United Kingdom8
  2011-07-16  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Hamburg, Germany12
  2010-09-08  Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final Budapest, HungaryBronze medal icon.svg
  2010-08-21  World Championships (Sprint) Lausanne, Switzerland6
  2010-08-14  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel, Austria18
  2010-07-24  Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United KingdomSilver medal icon.svg
  2010-06-05  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid, SpainGold medal icon.svg
  2010-05-08  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Seoul, South Korea4
  2009-08-22  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Yokohama, Japan10
  2009-08-15  Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United KingdomGold medal icon.svg
  2009-07-11  Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbühel, AustriaSilver medal icon.svg
  2007-08-30  BG World Championships Hamburg, Germany19
  2005-09-10  World Championships (U23) Gamagori, JapanBronze medal icon.svg
  2004-05-09  World Championships Madeira DNF
  2003-12-06  World Championships Queenstown, New Zealand33
  2002-11-09  World Championships (U23) Cancún, MexicoBronze medal icon.svg

World Cups

Gold medalist Spirig with Emmie Charayron and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010. Emmie Charayron Nicola Spirig Helen Jenkins.jpg
Gold medalist Spirig with Emmie Charayron and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010.
DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2012-03-25  World Cup Mooloolaba, AustraliaSilver medal icon.svg
  2010-10-10  World Cup Huatulco, MexicoSilver medal icon.svg
  2008-09-27  BG World Cup Lorient, France8
  2008-07-20  BG World Cup Kitzbühel, AustriaGold medal icon.svg
  2008-04-26  BG World Cup Tongyeong, South Korea8
  2008-04-13  BG World Cup Ishigaki, Japan6
  2007-12-01  BG World Cup Eilat, IsraelGold medal icon.svg
  2007-10-07  BG World Cup Rhodes, Greece6
  2007-09-15  BG World Cup Beijing, China7
  2007-07-29  BG World Cup Salford, United Kingdom10
  2007-07-22  BG World Cup Kitzbühel, Austria6
  2007-05-13  BG World Cup Richards Bay, South Africa5
  2007-05-06  BG World Cup Lisbon, Portugal8
  2007-04-15  BG World Cup Ishigaki, Japan6
  2007-03-25  BG World Cup Mooloolaba, Australia17
  2006-11-12  BG World Cup New Plymouth, New Zealand12
  2006-11-05  BG World Cup Cancún, Mexico17
  2006-07-23  BG World Cup Corner Brook, CanadaDNS
  2006-06-11  BG World Cup Richards Bay, South Africa8
  2006-06-04  BG World Cup Madrid, Spain17
  2005-09-17  OSIM World Cup Beijing, China32
  2005-08-06  World Cup Hamburg, GermanyDNF
  2005-07-31  World Cup Salford, United Kingdom12
  2005-06-05  World Cup Madrid, Spain11
  2004-07-25  World Cup Salford, United Kingdom13
  2004-04-25  World Cup Mazatlán, Mexico11
  2004-04-11  World Cup Ishigaki, Japan14
  2003-10-25  World Cup Athens, Greece24
  2003-10-19  World Cup Madeira, Portugal17
  2003-09-21  World Cup Madrid, SpainDNF
  2003-09-06  World Cup Hamburg, Germany15
  2003-07-20  World Cup Corner Brook, Canada11
  2003-07-13  World Cup Edmonton, Canada19
  2003-06-07  World Cup Tongyeong, South Korea26
  2002-10-13  World Cup Madeira, Portugal20
  2002-09-21  World Cup Nice, France21
  2002-08-31  World Cup Lausanne, Switzerland15
  2002-07-21  World Cup Corner Brook, Canada9
  2001-08-25  World Cup Lausanne, Switzerland9

European Championships

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2018-08-09   European Championships Glasgow, United KingdomGold medal icon.svg
  2014-06-20  European Championships Kitzbühel, AustriaGold medal icon.svg
  2012-04-20  European Championships Eilat, IsraelGold medal icon.svg
  2010-07-03  European Championships Athlone, IrelandGold medal icon.svg
  2009-07-02  European Championships Holten, NetherlandsGold medal icon.svg
  2008-05-10  European Championships Lisbon, Portugal4
  2007-06-29  European Championships Copenhagen, DenmarkBronze medal icon.svg
  2006-06-23  European Championships Autun, France13
  2005-08-20  European Championships Lausanne, Switzerland12
  2005-07-17  European Championships (U23) Sofia, BulgariaSilver medal icon.svg
  2004-04-18  European Championships Valencia, Spain14
  2003-06-21  European Championships Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic12
  2002-07-06  European Championships Győr, Hungary14

European Games

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2015-06-13   1st European Games Baku, AzerbaijanGold medal icon.svg

European Cups

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2007-08-19  European Cup Geneva, SwitzerlandSilver medal icon.svg
  2002-06-08  European Cup Belgrade, SerbiaBronze medal icon.svg

Junior results

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
  2001-07-22  World Championships Edmonton, CanadaGold medal icon.svg
  2001-06-23  European Championships Karlovy Vary, Czech RepublicSilver medal icon.svg
  2000-07-08  European Championships Stein, Netherlands5
  2000-04-30  World Championships Perth, AustraliaBronze medal icon.svg
  1999-07-03  European Championships Funchal, PortugalGold medal icon.svg
  1998-08-30  World Championships Lausanne, Switzerland5
  1998-07-04  European Championships Velden am Wörther See, Austria18

Awards

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "SPIRIG Nicola". olympics.com . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. "Start List: Elite Women • 2018 Glasgow ETU Triathlon European Championships".
  3. "Nicola Spirig". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  4. "Spirig can set the tone on a marathon day in Europe". European Athletics Association . 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. Henderson, Jason (16 August 2014). "Euro marathon gold for Christelle Daunay". Athletics Weekly . Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. "Mixed Relay Results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  7. zuonline.ch)
  8. Jörg Greb: Der «schnelle» Sohn der Triathlon-Olympiasiegerin. In: Tages-Anzeiger vom 24. März 2013
  9. Nicola Spirig bringt ein Mädchen zur Welt (11. Juli 2017)
  10. "World Triathlon Series: Nicola Spirig on racing 12 weeks after having third child". 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. "Results for: Spirig, Nicola (SUI)". International Triathlon Union. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.

Further reading

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Swiss Sportswoman of the Year
2012
Succeeded by