Georgia Taylor-Brown: It's mind over matter

Stepping on the Olympic podium in triathlon after suffering a puncture during the bike ride is not an easy feat.

Georgia Taylor-Brown achieved something even more sensational as she claimed silver in the women's race at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, only ten weeks after getting off crutches.

A few days later she followed that up with an historic gold with her GB teammates in the inaugural mixed team event.

Behind this remarkable recovery, there's a story of early success, setbacks, and resilience.

"I'm definitely a stronger athlete," admitted the Manchester-born star in an interview with Eurosport UK.

Do you want to know more about Great Britain's most successful female Olympic triathlete? Read on.

An athletic family

Taylor-Brown comes from a sporting background. Her father Darryl Taylor was a middle-distance runner who was once ranked GB’s number one in the men's 800m. He had a personal best of 1min 48secs, and competed against two-time Olympic champion – and now World Athletics president - Sebastian Coe.

Her mum Beverly Brown was a swimmer, racing at national level, and a runner in county competitions for Sale Harriers in Manchester.

And as if two sporty parents weren't enough, her partner is Josh Edmondson, a former professional cyclist who was part of Team Sky in 2013-2014. The couple share a home in Leeds, along with their dog Alfie.

A precocious talent

Taylor-Brown began swimming at the age of five and showed her running prowess during cross-country races in secondary school.

Transitioning to triathlon looked like the natural move for her and after a successful trial at 15, the 2020 World Triathlon series champion joined her country's Olympic Development Squad and from 2012 she has been training at the world-class facilities in Leeds, the national hotbed of the sport in Great Britain.

As a teenager she claimed several prestigious accolades, including two individual ETU European Junior Championships and a silver at the World junior championships in 2013 in London.

At 21 years of age the Briton took her first victory at senior level at the ITU World Cup race in Madrid, followed by individual and mixed relay U23 European titles.

One year later she capped off her debut season in the World Triathlon series with third place overall.

A 'never-say-die' attitude

But it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows for Taylor-Brown, who faced – and overcame - several stumbling blocks during her career.

As a teenager rocketing towards to the elite level she was forced out of competition for over a year due to a recurring foot injury, while in the World Triathlon Olympic Qualification event in Tokyo three years ago she was infamously disqualified along with her teammate Jess Learmonth for holding hands as they crossed the finish line.

However the now 28-year-old has always been able to pick herself up and battle on.

Like when she suffered a leg injury that left her on crutches just 12 weeks prior to Tokyo 2020 in 2021, and still managed to take her place on the start line of the individual event despite not racing for almost 11 months.

Her steely determination also emerged during the Olympic race when she completed an amazing comeback by winning silver after puncturing in the bike leg and dropping back from the leaders.

"I had one of my best races at the Olympics and it shows what you can do under little training,” Taylor-Brown said after the race.

"It's mind over matter and then you can be in space and win it by having a clear head.”

Unconventional pre-Tokyo regime

The Mancunian has been building a resilient mentality over the years.

That pushed her to go the extra mile to achieve her goals, as happened before Tokyo.

To get her body adjusted to the humidity of the Odaiba Marine Park, she went through an unconventional training routine, which involved running in waterproofs, using a turbo trainer next to a radiator, and taking hot baths fully clothed.

"I thought I was going to die," she revealed.

Conditioning your body is not enough to perform at elite level and Georgia got herself ready for her Olympic debut with a particular soundtrack: silence.

“It’s nice not to hear anything at all, just to hear the wind is actually quite nice sometimes, just out on my own, listening to my own heartbeat and my own breath,” she said.

Continuing Britain’s Olympic success in triathlon

Over the last decade Team GB have become a powerhouse in the sport. Brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee opened a new era at the 2012 Olympics in London, winning gold and bronze respectively in the men’s race on home soil.

Four years later in Rio the two siblings sealed an iconic 1-2, with Vicky Holland taking bronze in the women’s event.

In Tokyo, Taylor-Brown teamed up with fellow Leeds Beckett University graduate Alex Yee, silver medallist in the men's event, to clinch mixed team gold and become Britain's most successful triathlete at a single Games (along with Lee). An achievement that led to both of them being awarded in their home country with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

And, at only 28, there's time to add more to the pile, starting with another world title after her win in 2020 when the competition was reduced to just a single sprint race.

Following a victory in Yokohoma and two second places at the home event in Leeds, Georgia is currently leading the 2022 WT series rankings and her trademark resilience and consistency suggest that the present and the future of British triathlon is in safe hands.