Jessica Learmonth

A star of the sport and of Super League Triathlon, Learmonth took the first ever Arena Games title in Rotterdam in 2020 where she was totally dominant. Her Super League pedigree was further underlined in her Championship Series debut season in 2021 as she won three events and finished second overall. Last year she picked up an Olympic gold medal as part of the British mixed relay team – and all of this after discovering triathlon while working in a supermarket.

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Learmonth, a keen golfer and footballer who played for Leeds United’s academy, travelled with her partner, Jon, aged 21. After returning home, she felt out of shape but could only cycle after hurting her knee in a Bootcamp class. She started working at a local supermarket, where Learmonth and her colleagues staged a fundraising triathlon challenge. Needless to say, it helped light a fire.

By 2012, Learmonth was working as a personal trainer and decided to go and watch the women’s triathlon at the London Olympics. Inspired by what she saw, Learmonth dedicated herself to the sport and made quick progress, joining the Great Britain world-class performance squad just three years later. Despite her lack of experience, Learmonth fitted in naturally on the elite scene and secured a World Cup victory in 2016 and followed it up with a top ten WTS finish in her hometown of Leeds.

As 2017 rolled by, Learmonth took things up a level further, with podium finishes at WTS events, including the Grand Final in Rotterdam. There was a Commonwealth Games silver medal in 2018, both in the individual and Mixed Relay events. In 2019 she finished second behind Katie Zaferes in the WTS rankings.

Learmonth made international headlines at the Olympic qualification event in Tokyo as she crossed the line ahead of the field hand-in-hand with teammate and friend Georgia Taylor-Brown, only for the pair to be disqualified.

She made her Super League Triathlon debut at the SLT Arena Games in Rotterdam in 2020 and stunned the field to take a win in an event she dominated from start to finish.

After a period of injury, Jess bounced back in style to hit form ahead of the Olympics, where she put in a strong display to finish 9th in the individual event before being part of the gold medal winning Great Britain Mixed Relay team along with Georgia Taylor-Brown, Alex Yee and Jonny Brownlee.

Jess took that form into the Super League Triathlon 2021 Championship Series and was dominant in London, Munich and Jersey, picking up three back-to-back wins. However, with extra points on the line at the finale in Malibu, and her good friend Georgia tucked just behind her in the overall standings after three second places, finishing fourth with Georgia second and Katie Zaferes third meant she finished the season second overall.

Jess lives in Leeds with her long-term partner Jon.