NON STANFORD'S PRO LOCKDOWN TRAINING

IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, WELSH PRO NON STANFORD HAS EXPERIENCED A LIFETIME OF SPORTING HIGHS AND LOWS. BUT AS SHE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF SOME EXTENDED RECOVERY TIME FROM RECENT INJURY, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE FORMER WORLD CHAMP ONCE RACING RESUMES?

Big decisions have dominated the life of Non Stanford in the past year. Some the Welsh triathlete has full control over, such as changing coach and training set-up, accepting a marriage proposal from fellow pro Aaron Royle, and then heading to his native Australia on the cusp of a pandemic via a fortnight’s quarantine. Some she’s been left with little choice – surgery to repair cartilage in her left knee without which it may have become arthritic. And others, little or no control over at all, including whether a once closed door to Olympic selection might creak just a little ajar.

But while the 31-year-old readily admits a tendency to ruminate, for now, from Aaron’s family home on Australia’s east coast in Wollongong, just south of Sydney, she cuts a content figure. Part of this can be attributed to escape from the detainment of a Sydney hotel room where the couple spent two stifling weeks with faltering aircon. Australia’s strict response to coronavirus has kept mortality to the tens rather than thousands, but necessitated measures such as the mandatory quarantine; the wristband marking her Covid-free status has long been dispatched.

“It was a big decision to come over, but probably the right one,” Non reflects, the initial allure of being able to sea swim rapidly becoming a secondary consideration as the pandemic escalated. Aaron’s family run a wholesale fruit and veg business and the recently betrothed wanted to be on hand if required.

“Beforehand I was daunted by it, and although I wouldn’t be in a hurry to do it again, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be,” she says of the quarantine. “The big thing we missed was fresh air, as we didn’t have a window that opened. We had the turbo, but more for sanity than anything