British Triathlon is delighted to congratulate Zara Hyde Peters on receiving the OBE and Chrissie Wellington, the MBE, from the Queen in her Birthday Honours list on 12 June 2010.
Zara Hyde Peters OBE commented: “I am completely overwhelmed. This is a huge honour for me and for British Triathlon, where we have enjoyed an amazing last 18 months. Sport has always been my passion, my hobby and in recent years, my life. But I never thought that following my love for endurance sport would lead to this!”
The astonishing sporting career of triple world Ironman champion and former ITU Long Distance World Champion, Chrissie Wellington was also recognised by the Queen, as she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
In its congratulatory release, British Triathlon notes that:
Zara has contributed across a wealth of areas in British sport. She was an elite athlete between 1992 and 1999, competing for Great Britain on the track and road. She joined the Board of UK Sport in 1998, chairing their Audit Committee and serving for the maximum six year period at a crucial time when British elite sport was transforming into the force it is today.
In parallel, she added an MBA to her chemical engineering degree and opted to become senior employee and Board member at two British National Governing Bodies of sport, firstly UK Athletics and then joining British Triathlon early in 2008 as the Chief Executive.
If the weekday job provided an insufficient exposure to sport, she is often found at weekends engaging in voluntary support to sport as a coach of young and age group athletes at her local athletics and triathlon club.
Her impact has been considerable, from looking after Dame Kelly Holmes during the incredible final days of the Athens Olympics to driving the performance of British Triathlon on a number of levels, to the degree that she was able to receive the Sports Governing Body of the Year Award on our behalf just a month ago.
She is innovative and businesslike; an initiator, stimulator and developer of partnerships, which has seen British Triathlon agree significant commercial partnerships with FTSE 100 companies and Olympic sponsors such as our Corporate Partner Corus and Elite Teams Sponsor GE, securing the financial future of our organisation through 2012 and beyond.
She has led the ongoing development of the events portfolio to a successful relationship with Upsolut delivering a Dextro Energy ITU World Championship Series race into London Hyde Park. And it is noticeable that our great British athletes continue to win hoards of gold medals over the entire spectrum of multisport competition. Zara is a great role model and an outstanding sport leader.
Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington was also singled out for praise from British Triathlon:
After studying geography at the University of Birmingham, Chrissie worked as an advisor in international development policy at DEFRA while discovering marathon running and triathlon, the latter through the well known Birmingham Running and Triathlon Club (BRAT). Proving the maxim that ‘you don’t know until you tri’, her career began as a member of the highly successful British Age Group Triathlon team.
Chrissie moved to Nepal to work in development in 2005, enjoying the chance to engage in extreme endurance opportunities, and returned to become the fastest female age grouper in the ITU Lausanne World Age Group Triathlon Championships in 2006, taking the courageous decision to turn elite the following year.
Her astonishing debut at the World Ironman Championships in 2007 saw her crowned champion, the first ever British person to win this famous event in Kona, Hawaii. Showing the mettle of a true champion, she overcame many challenges to win it on two subsequent occasions, breaking the 17 year old course record in 2009.
In parallel with her current life as a sporting icon, Chrissie contributes to others through her development and charity work. She surprised some pundits by winning the popular Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award in 2009, ahead of contenders from other more high profile sports. It was only a hint of what was to come.
She is a wonderful role model and an inspired choice to join those honoured by Her Majesty. Congratulations to Chrissie Wellington MBE from British Triathlon, and all triathletes in our country and around the world. Long live the undisputed Queen of long distance triathlon! We hope this medal will be one of the most special in your burgeoning collection.
