Emma-Kate Lidbury

Emma-Kate took up triathlon in 2005 after participating in the inaugural Blenheim Triathlon as part of her job as a journalist at the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. After crossing the finish line at Blenheim, she soon entered more events and less than a year later had qualified for the Great Britain age group team for the ITU World Championships. From 2006 to 2008 she excelled at age group racing, winning World and European age group medals, and showed huge potential in the sport.

In her pre-triathlon days, Emma-Kate was a career-driven newspaper journalist with her eyes firmly set on Fleet Street. After achieving a first class honours degree in English and Sports Science from Loughborough University, Britain’s top sports university, she then went to Cardiff University, which is home to one of the country’s leading schools of journalism where she gained a post-graduate diploma in newspaper journalism.

Although the Fleet Street dreams remained, as the tri bug took hold Emma-Kate soon found she was spending more time training and less time in the newsroom. In autumn 2008, she decided to leave full-time employment and begin focusing more seriously on racing professionally.

A keen writer, Emma-Kate continues to combine her passion for multisport with her natural flair for writing and reporting. She contributes to magazines such as Triathlon Plus, 220 Triathlon and Triathlete Europe and websites such as LAVA and Tri247.com. She has also had work published in Triathlete’s World, Ultra-FIT, Running Fitness, Cycling Plus, Triathlon and Multisport Australia, Australian Triathlete and Swimming Times.

When she’s not training, Emma-Kate enjoys spending time with her family (the Lidburys are a close knit bunch); indulging her thirst for current affairs (she’s often seen chuckling behind a copy of Private Eye) and growing veggies at the bottom of her garden. Emma-Kate feels very fortunate to be involved in a sport she loves so much, travelling to all parts of the world and meeting new people who will no doubt be lifelong friends. Ever since that first triathlon back in 2005, the same line has rung true on countless occasions: “Just look where triathlon’s taken me now!”