3 August 2018

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Rachel Butler competes on global stage


 An employee at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals has just competed in the world Aquathlon championships finishing in an impressive 20th position in the 35-39 year old age category.
 

 Rachel Butler competed at the ITU Aquathlon World Championships which have been held annually since 1998 and involve the most talented athletes in this field from around the world. This year’s event was held in Denmark.

Rachel, PA to the head of learning and development at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said: “Competing on the world stage made me nervous and anxious as it is something I had never done before, but I calmed myself down after I thought about all the hard work and time I had put into my training to get myself to this position.”

Qualification for the event was extremely difficult and it involved submitting previous times from a variety of races around the UK, also British Triathlon set minimum required times for both the swim and run that you also must hit to also be considered eligible to qualify.

Representing Great Britain is one of the greatest accomplishments of her life, she said.

“Parading around the Odense city centre the day before the race in my Great Britain tracksuit with my teammates was a hugely proud moment for me and it is something that will stick with me forever in which was such a surreal experience.”

Colleagues of Rachel’s were incredibly supportive throughout the Aquathlon Journey.

“My colleagues were extremely supportive, they helped me cope with my flexible working hours and training schedule and also kept a keen interest when I was competing, and I also got a message from Chief Executive Sir Andrew Cash which was a great surprise.”

Following on from her recent success, Rachel is now looking to improve on this when she competes in the European championships in October.
 



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