Nicola Spirig is unique.
As the reigning Olympic Champion in the sport of triathlon, one might expect the Swiss athlete to be completely fixated on defending her title in Rio. Yet motherhood has been her top priority since breaking the tape in London over two years ago.
And while swim-bike-run no doubt defines Spirig on the international stage, other sporting interests and her academic prowess as a qualified lawyer are critical in maintaining a balanced and stimulating lifestyle. But then it was always going to be that way for the articulate Swiss.
“I like to do a lot of things,” explains Spirig, having just returned home from a training camp in St Moritz. “I like to have different aspects in my life. Being a mother and a professional athlete plus having a lot of different commitments as the Olympic Champion is an extremely interesting combination.”
Spirig’s dreams certainly came true in London 2012. A sprint finish with Sweden’s Lisa Norden ruled in her favour and thus changed her life forever. But only to a certain point though. The long term sponsorship opportunities and Olympic responsibilities that emerged in the aftermath of her triumph - whilst certainly important - did not wholly consume the Zurich resident in a way many might expect.
“Yannis was born in 2013,” says Spirig of her and husband Reto Hug’s young son. “It can sometimes be difficult to combine professional sports with being a mother but having a family is the most amazing thing. Yannis will be two years old in March. I like to take my family with me to races or training camps and he has already been to some really cool places.”
Spirig’s recent excursion to the high altitude resort of St Moritz is no exception, where husband and son accompanied her for two weeks of winter preparation under the tutelage of the Australian coach, Brett Sutton.
“It was a great period,” says Spirig of her time spent in the Swiss Alps. “We did a lot of swimming, running and cross-country skiing. It was a great mix of activities, which is important to me. I really like variation in both training and racing, which keeps me excited about the sport.”
Spirig and Sutton certainly lived up to the notion of variety in 2014. Over the course of a year, Spirig won races and set personal best times over a myriad of distances and sporting disciplines, ranging from 3000m track running to long-distance triathlon. Victory in the European Triathlon Championships and a couple of ITU World Cup victories complemented her 24th place finish at the European Marathon Championships. The year culminated in a victory at her maiden Ironman attempt in Cozumel, Mexico. Whilst seemingly random and unstructured, 2014 was part of a greater plan, something which Spirig attributes to the genius of her coach and mentor Sutton.
“Many things that Brett suggests may seem weird or ridiculous at first, but there is always a plan. He is so intuitive and can almost read a person’s mind!”
Case in point Spirig’s final preparations for London 2012. In an attempt to protect his athlete from over-training whilst satiating her desire for competition, Sutton sent Spirig to compete at a half-Ironman distance race in Belgium only two weeks before Olympic race day, insisting that she travel their by car. His reasoning was simple: overland travel to a faraway race meant enforced rest while the longer distance race meant a greater aerobic effort. The combination proved decisive, giving Spirig a much needed taste of competition without burning too many matches just before her end goal.
“It took us one-and-a-half days to get there,” remembers Spirig. “It was the German summer holidays when Reto and I drove to Antwerp and the traffic slowed our journey significantly! After the race we drove all the way back home and I felt so good. But then Brett knew this all along, so his plan worked perfectly. I just felt so fit!”
This unconventional approach extended into 2014, with the Spirig and Sutton partnership taking full advantage of the Swiss athlete’s love of diversity. The time spent preparing for her marathon exploits resulted in greater strength whilst the intensity of competition on the athletics track sharpened Spirig’s top end speed. And the recent time spent in St Moritz has been dedicated to mastering her swimming stroke, all the while maintaining the fun aspect that cross-country skiing and family time brings.
“We decided that I couldn't improve as an athlete if I kept on doing the same things,” confirms Spirig. “2013 was left open to decide whether I wanted to carry on with triathlon and the time off certainly made me realise that the sport is still my passion. So 2014 was a year that we wanted to be fun and do things that I really wanted to do, like focus on the marathon. These things really helped me improve as an athlete in general. After concentrating on running last year, I feel I can adapt to either short distance ITU racing or longer races like Ironman.”
Spirig concedes that she and Sutton are very different personalities. After initially being unimpressed with the iconoclastic Australian, she decided to give training with him a try in 2006 and has not looked back since. Where Spirig views tertiary education as a high priority, Sutton believed – although he has changed his mind a little with some athletes - that a professional athlete should be totally consumed in the sport to be successful. Her nature and intellect are such that she needs diversity and structure in her life and both athlete and coach seem to have met halfway.
“Brett understands the person. I still learn so much from him, especially in the way that he treats the different athletes in our group differently. I think that our differing personalities have benefitted us both. I also need to know the reason for doing specific training; I need to see the sense in something. And Brett always has a legitimate answer to my queries. Always.”
After driving back from St Mortiz last Friday, Spirig and Hug had two precious days at home with Yannis before moving on to another scheduled event in Venice. Part of Spirig’s Olympic success is her being a sought after speaker at conferences and events. Enjoying the brief interlude at home, Spirig is excited about her appearance in the “City of Water” and also about her prospects for the year ahead.
“Probably another marathon and some more track racing,” says Spirig somewhat coyly, not yet committing to a set racing schedule. “The European Triathlon Championships are in Geneva this year so I would love to try and win there but nothing is set in stone yet.”
And Rio 2016?
“The inaugural European Games do interest me greatly. A win there will be my chance to qualify for the Rio Olympics immediately, without doing many other short distance qualifying races. My path to Rio will not follow the normal way that other athletes will go. If I go to Rio it will be on a special way with different races and a different preparation, including races like marathons and longer distance triathlons.”
