Laura Bennett - Multiple Olympian & World Championship medalist
Episode 38: Laura Bennett - Multiple Olympian & World Championship medalist
See below for Deals and Coupon Codes, Show notes, Timestamps, and Links
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Show notes (please see Timestamps below for more detail)
In this episode of BE with Champions, Greg Bennett chats with, Laura Bennett. Laura is a four-time World Championship medalist, four-time USA National champion, and two time USA Olympian. Laura is also Greg's wife.
Laura describes her background in sports and her passion for competition. She discusses that although she chose Triathlon as her sport and her career, she didn't love Triathlon, she loved to compete.
Laura felt like she was always just trying to keep up. She never felt like she was one of the strong dominant athletes. Looking back she thinks she may have been too hard on herself. She describes the fact that if Emma Snowsill hadn't chosen the sport of Triathlon that she would have many more medals and World Championship wins.
Laura's career highlights include the sprint finish with Michellie Jones at the Queenstown World Championships in 2003. 10 years earlier Laura had witnessed Michellie and Karen Smyers have a sprint finish and dreamed one day that she to could have a sprint to the line. She got that chance in 2003. It was however for 2nd as Emma Snowsill had already run away with the win.
Laura discusses managing emotions throughout the episode but the highlight was when she describes her 2007 Hyvee World Cup win and the largest ever prize purse that went with it. She decided not to race the following weekend and just let the emotional high sit. She did this knowing that if she went to high there is a likely chance she would feel the equal low soon after.
Incredible insights and remarkable stories. See the timestamps below.
Timestamps
0.0 - Introduction to show
2.10 - Sponsors
4.40 - Start to show – Introduction
5.30 - General chit-chat
6.00 - Early mornings still feel like the anxiety of race mornings
7.40 - Comparing being a Mum to being a professional athlete - "Having learned life's lessons through sport its rolled into helping me take on two little ones"
11.00 - Being a professional athlete is either 10 out of 10 or a zero. Parenting is like living between 3-6, never fully on but never fully off
13.45 - Winding the clock back - finding a passion for endurance sport - Laura was active and outside every day - she was running with her Dad and then picked up swimming - She started Ironkids - she was into every sport - High School was swimming and running - Focussed on swimming for college because she could run the rest of her life - Chose SMU as her University as a "walk-on" which means no scholarship but then after one year they gave her a full scholarship - Laura did a few Triathlons during University including junior worlds in Manchester World Championships - They offered Laura a scholarship but a part of the deal was she wasn't allowed to race Triathlon and wanted her to focus on swimming
23.30 - Tim Yount from USA Triathlon offered Laura to be a part of a collegiate program - a month later Laura said yes to the program - 1997 Laura raced as age grouper at Perth World Championships - By 98 Laura was racing the ITU World Cup series
27.30 - Laura was a 100m and 200m butterfly swimmer at college and didn't think she would be a good 1500m in Triathlon but found herself in the front pack
29.00 - Laura was excited and keen to be the best - she would sit in the car with a swim cap on in the car ready for training
30.30 - Laura is very athletic - Laura's 1st World Cup she won because she had fast transitions - Laura chose Triathlon because of family influence - "I never loved Triathlon but I loved to compete"
34.40 - Greg and Laura are similar swimmers - Laura describing swimming next to Greg "I have a confession to make, if I knew you were trying to race me, I would definitely hold you on the line"
37.00 - Greg shares the story of the young family watching Both Greg and Laura
38.30 - At what point did you realize you have some strength in this sport? "Ummm Never..." - 2nd in Noosa World Cup in 98 - "I was always on the rivet just hanging on" -"I was doing all-out sprints just to try and take a turn on the bike" - "I had days I could tell that I was going to have a great day"
43.00 - Greg was happy to beat the other men whereas Laura was harder on herself - Greg was always excited to chat about the sport, Laura needed more breaks - "I had a passion for sport, but not exactly our sport" - "I'm so grateful the career I've had and I'm very proud of my accomplishments and for all the opportunities I've had and taking advantage of the one's that came to me"
47.00 - In 1998 Laura went to train and live with Michellie Jones - Laura was injured in 1999
49.00 - In 2000, Moving to Victoria Canada and ends up connecting with Greg - training with Lance Watson and the squad with Simon Whitfield
52.00 - From 2002 onwards laura is rarely out of the top 5 - In 2003, Laura just missed winning the World Cup series "I'd have a lot more wins of Emma Snowsill never raced" - Laura thought about stopping the sport but wanted to find someone to enjoy the journey with - Then she met Greg
56.30 - Laura helped Greg find more confidence and Greg helped Laura find someone to enjoy life together - they complimented each - Laura helped managed Greg's emotions along with Lance Watson - "We were good athletes before but we fine-tuned and became better athletes together, and that was the key to our longevity and consistency"
1.01.10 - 2004 - Greg and Laura were married - Finding Intent - Designing training programs - "We asked ourselves, What can we do to get ahead of these amazing athletes?"
1.05.00 - "We started coaching ourselves and took full control"
1.06.00 - Laura recaps a career highlight - 2003, Queenstown World Championships - outsprinting Michellie Jones for the second place- "I always wanted a sprint finish"
1.14.10 - 2004, USA Olympic selection - Madiera World Championships - Laura finished 3rd but Sheila Taormina won and took the USA Olympic team - Bellingham, Washington they used as a second qualify
1.18.00 What were the differences in being Intent? Laura describes choosing the right goal - taking control of the programs - sleep, nutrition, physical training - "we just felt it we knew what was doing was right" - what can we control and do better? 15% of income Travel and 15% to bodywork - we reinvested in ourself
1.24.00 - Three business class tickets around the world in one year
1.25.30 - The 2007 year. The Hyvee World Cup, Hamburg World Championships, and Beijing World Cup which doubled as the USA Olympic trials - two home bases
1.28.00 - The Hyvee World Cup - the worlds largest ever prize purse - "I thought, is that all you got and then immediately attacked", "I don't remember the finish, I was floating" - 18 woman pulled out due to heat and humidity - Laura decided to not race Edmonton World Cup the next weekend due to Laura's emotional high
1.37.00 - Hamburg - Laura was with Emma Snowsill at the finish but chose not to sprint to make sure she'll save it for Beijing and her Olympic trials - she didn't want to get too emotionally high
1.40.30 - Beijing World Cup - "Travelling west was always easier for me" - Laura finished 3rd and was 1st onto the USA team
1.42.00 - The Beijing Olympics - Laura tore her plantar fascia and couldn't bike and run, she deiced to only run, running 30k one day and 20k the next day and swam 6km every day. "I ran in pain for the whole Summer"- "Missing threshold workouts is definitely what cost me a medal" - Laura went for the medals in the race but it cost her at the finish and finished 4th. "I couldn't have had a better time at the Olympics"
1.47.45 - Conclusion
Links
Be sure and check out bennettendurance.com
Find Greg on social media:
Twitter @GregBennett1
Instagram @GregBennettWorld
Find Laura on social media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraRBennett
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