A tale of revenge: Lauren Parker braves ‘horrific pain’ to win triathlon

Paris: Australia’s Lauren Parker has exacted revenge to win the women’s triathlon at the Paralympics in Paris, comfortably taking the crown from the USA’s Kendall Gretsch.

It was a significant win for Parker; she narrowly lost first place in Tokyo after leading for the majority of the race when Gretsch came from behind to beat her by just one second in an intense sprint finish.

Lauren Parker makes her way down the Champs-Elysees in the triathlon.Credit: AP

“It’s been a big build-up. I’ve said ever since Tokyo that I want to get gold in Paris,” Parker said.

“I can’t believe I was able to do it today. It’s been a long journey to get here, and I couldn’t be more proud and more happy.”

Parker had been unbeatable ever since Tokyo, winning three world titles. In Paris, Parker dominated the entire race to win in one hour, six minutes and 23 seconds – more than a minute ahead of Gretsch.

“I was able to enjoy the last lap a little bit and especially at the finish line, I looked back and made sure no one was chasing me down,” Parker said.

After leaping from the base of Pont Alexandre III for a 750-metre swim along the Seine River, Parker was first to exit the water.

The 35-year-old then held her lead throughout the 20-kilometre hand-cycle snaking through historic Parisian streets, including the famed, cobbled Champs-Elysees, and a five-kilometre wheelchair-run to finish.

Gretsch was tailing Parker by about two minutes for much of the race, before picking up the pace during the final stage, but not quite enough to come out on top.

It was a still, sunny Monday morning in Paris, on the first day back from France’s “grandes vacances” – the holiday the French take in August – and local crowds flocked to line the river and streets to cheer on the triathletes.

The triathlon was due to kick off on Sunday in Paris, but it was postponed at 4am that morning following an emergency meeting of event officials.

After two days of rain and storms, organisers said the water quality of the river had deteriorated and was unsuitable for swimming. The triathlon races were pushed back a day.

Paris 2024 organisers have been criticised for deciding to hold swimming events in the Seine River. The city poured in 1.4 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to clean up the polluted river, but, like during the Paralympics, the men’s Olympic triathlon was also postponed.

“Every now and then it would come into my mind not to swallow water or stuff like that, but it didn’t feel bad,” Parker said.

What made the swim particularly challenging, Parker said, was the blinding sun.

“The sun was in your eyes, and you couldn’t see anything,” she said.

Parker is a long-time elite triathlete who became paraplegic in 2017 after she crashed during a high-speed training ride.

Determined to return to high-performance sport, Parker won bronze in the Commonwealth Games para-triathlon only 11 months after her life-altering injury.

There was no animosity post-race at the Paralympics. Gretsch said she was excited for Parker.

Triathlete Lauren Parker celebrates winning gold.Credit: Getty Images

“I’m super proud of Lauren. Any time I race against her, it’s a tough race, and that’s exactly what you want,” Gretsch said.

“We have become friends over these past three years.”

Parker has a day’s break before she returns to competition on Wednesday, this time in road cycling, starting with the time trial, then the road race on Thursday. She took gold and silver for those events respectively at the 2023 world championships.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge and cycling is my strongest leg,” she said.

“The goal is to get the three gold medals.”

Parker is the first Australian athlete since 1992 to compete in two different sports in the one Games. The last Paralympic athlete to win gold in two different sports for Australia was Eric Russell in 1976.

Parker has been open about her mental health struggles, and she lives with chronic neuropathic pain from her chest down to her feet.

“Right now I’m in horrific pain with the nerve pain everywhere through my body. Even when I’m racing, I still have that pain,” she said.

“I’ve got a high pain threshold because of it, because no matter how much pain I put myself through in sport, it’s not as bad as what the nerve pain is.”

Six months ago, Parker got a new tattoo on her back: “She is unbreakable”. She certainly showed that today.

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