 Findlay (centre) with the gold medal at the World Championship Series triathlon in Kitzbuhel, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 26, 1989 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Triathlon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Paulo Sousa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Paula Findlay (born May 26, 1989) is a Canadian triathlete from Edmonton, Alberta.
On September 9, 2009, Findlay competed at the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Grand Final in Gold Coast, Australia. She placed third in the under 23 women race. [1]
In April 2010, Findlay won the 2010 Monterrey ITU Triathlon World Cup Elite Women's race. She also had a victory at the June 26th Coteau-du-Lac ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup. On July 24, Findlay won the ITU World Championship Series event held in London. [2] She then won the ITU Triathlon World Championships Series event in Kitzbühel on August 14, making Findlay the only female triathlete to win consecutive ITU World Championship Series events in 2010. Another victory for Findlay was achieved on August 20, 2010 at the Kelowna ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup. [1]
Paula Findlay won the first three ITU World Championship Series events of the 2011 season in Sydney, Madrid, and Kitzbühel. At that time, she was ranked 1st in the world by the International Triathlon Union.
Due to a hip injury, Findlay had not competed since the IT World Championship Grand Final in Beijing, China on September 9, 2011. [3]
Because of her rising success, Triathlon Canada used discretionary selections to nominate Findlay to the 2012 Summer Olympics. [4] [5] However, in the year leading up to the Olympic Games Findlay struggled with a hip injury. According to Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield, Findlay's recovery leading up to the games was mismanaged. [6] That mismanagement, along with iron-deficiency anemia, caused her to finish in 52nd place, the final athlete to complete the race. [7] [8]
Findlay re-emerged in triathlon in 2018 when she won the 2018 Ironman 70.3 North American Championships. [9] [10]
The next year, she won the 2019 70.3 Ironman at Indian Wells and the 2019 Challenge Daytona (1 mile/37.5 miles/8.2 miles). [11]
In 2020 she won Challenge Daytona (2 km/80 km/18 km), [12] for which she was awarded a $100,000 USD prize, the most lucrative victory of her career. [13]
In 2021, Findlay won Ironman 70.3 Oceanside but spent much of the rest of the year injured. [14] [15] [16]
In 2022, Findlay came in second at both Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga and the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. [17] [18] But she surprised the cycling world with a win 2022 Canadian Road Championships in the time trial. [19] Findlay ended the season with a win at Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells. [20]
To start the 2023 season Findlay took first place at both St Anthony's Triathlon in St Petersburg, Florida and Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. [21] She won her second consecutive time trial title at the 2023 Canadian Road Championship. [22] She went on to represent Canada in the Women's Time Trial at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, finishing in 25th place. [23]
In 2024, Findlay won the Canadian Road Championship time trial for the third consecutive time [24] and followed it up by winning Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant two days later. [25]
Findlay lives in Bend, Oregon with her partner, Eric Lagerstrom and their dog Flynn. [26] Together, Eric & Paula founded That Triathlon Life, a popular triathlon lifestyle brand and media company, which includes a You Tube channel and podcast. [27] She is currently sponsored by On Running, Deboer Wetsuits, Specialized, and Castelli Cycling. [28] [29] [30] [31]
Samantha Warriner is a retired triathlete who represented New Zealand in triathlons ranging from sprint distance up to the Ironman. She was born in Alton, Hampshire, England. She turned professional at the end of 2005 after competing internationally for 3 years while teaching full-time at Whangarei Girls High School.
Andrew Robert Potts is a triathlete from the United States. He competed in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics and is the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion. Prior to triathlon, Potts was a swimmer where he won the bronze medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the 1995 Summer Universiade and earned a spot on the USA Swimming national team where he would place fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.
Melissa Hauschildt is an Australian professional triathlete and former middle-distance runner. She is a 3-time World Champion, winning Gold at the 2011 and 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship as well as the 2013 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. She also won Silver at the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. In April 2018, Hauschildt set a new Ironman brand record of 8:31:05, at the Ironman North American Championships, breaking the previous record of 8:33:56 set by Chrissie Wellington in 2011.
Erika Csomor is a Hungarian triathlete and duathlete. In 1998 she ran the marathon race at the European Championships, ending up in 36th place with a total time of 2:48:37.
Francisco Javier Gómez Noya is a Spanish triathlete. He is the winner of five ITU Triathlon World Championships, he holds three ITU Triathlon World Cup titles, and won the Silver medal for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's triathlon. He has also won world titles for Ironman 70.3 and XTERRA Triathlon.
Jan Frodeno is a German former triathlete who is the gold medal winner in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 3-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019, and 2-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2015 and 2018. He had set the world record for the long distance in Roth, Germany in 2016 with 7:35:39 hours. In 2021, he broke his own world record during the Tributtle in Allgäu, Germany against Lionel Sanders, with a time of 07:27:53, setting a new world best for the long-distance triathlon.
Laura Marie Bennett is an American professional triathlete. She placed fourth in the women's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, she finished 17th at the London Olympic Games. She earned a silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in 2003 and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, and 2007. She has also raced at the Half-Ironman distance, placing 5th at the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Caroline Steffen is a professional triathlete from Switzerland. She is the winner of the 2010 and 2012 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships and took second at the 2010 and 2012 Ironman World Championship. Before competing as a professional triathlete she was a member of the Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team.
Magali Tisseyre is a Canadian triathlete from Montreal who races primarily in long distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She took third place at both the 2009 and 2010 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Heather Jackson is an American triathlete and track cyclist. She is the runner-up of the 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship and the third-place finisher at the 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. In 2009, she took third place in individual pursuit and omnium at the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships.
Rachel Joyce is an English professional triathlete. She is the winner of the 2011 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships and the second-place finisher at the 2013 Ironman World Championship and 2015 Ironman World Championship. She races in primarily long-distance triathlon events, such as Ironman and Ironman 70.3 distances, and has won events such as Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2017 and Challenge Roth in 2012.
Annabel Luxford is an Australian triathlete. In International Triathlon Union (ITU) competition she is the 2005 ITU Triathlon World Cup series champion and the silver medalist at the 2005 ITU Triathlon World Championships. In 2004, she was the ITU under-23 World Champion and also finished second in the ITU Triathlon World Cup standings. In 2013, after changing to non-drafing long course racing, she finished third at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Melanie McQuaid is a Canadian triathlete. Competing in primarily XTERRA Triathlon, or cross triathlon, she has won three XTERRA World Championships as well as the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship in 2011 and 2017. McQuaid also races in half-iron and Ironman 70.3 triathlon events, with half a dozen wins at this distance.
Nikki Butterfield is a professional triathlete and former road cyclist from Australia. She represented her nation at the 2007 and 2008 UCI Road World Championships.
Siri Lindley is an American triathlon coach and former professional triathlete. She is the 2001 ITU Triathlon World Champion as well as the winner of the 2001 and 2002 ITU Triathlon World Cup series and 2001 ITU Aquathlon World Championships. She has coached a number of Olympic and Ironman athletes and champions, including Mirinda Carfrae, Leanda Cave, Sarah True, and Susan Williams. In 2014, she was selected to be a member of the inaugural International Triathlon Union (ITU) Hall of Fame class.
Lionel James Sanders is a Canadian professional triathlete winner of the 2017 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. In 2017 and 2021, he also placed second at the Ironman World Championship. In 2014 he placed fourth in the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship held in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Sanders's first professional race was in September 2013 at the Muskoka Ironman 70.3, where he took 1st place over Andreas Raelert.
Natasha Méndez Bonelly is a professional triathlete, athlete and road cyclist from the Dominican Republic. She won the Dominican Republic National Time Trial Championships in 2016.
Taylor Knibb is an American triathlete and the 2022 and 2023 Women's Ironman 70.3 World Champion. She competed in the women's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, finishing sixteenth. Later that same Olympics, she won a silver medal in the mixed relay event. Knibb is the youngest woman ever to qualify for the US Olympic triathlon team. Knibb qualified for two sports at the 2024 Summer Olympics, triathlon and the cycling time trial.
Katrina Matthews is an English professional triathlete who races in non-drafting, long-distance events. Major results include second places at the 2021 Ironman World Championship in Utah, USA, the 2024 Ironman World Championship in Nice, France, and the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland. She was a member of the BMC Pro triathlon team 2020–2022 and is a physiotherapist working for the British Army.
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) is an organisation that represents non-drafting professional triathletes. Its mission is to professionalise and promote the sport of triathlon. The PTO is a hybrid of a not-for-profit organisation and commercial endeavour. The commercial enterprises of the PTO – including PTO events – are operated under a commercial entity, with the triathletes of PTO retaining 50% ownership and PTO investors retaining 50% ownership.
