page_title: Chrissie Wellington
section_title: 2007–2008: life with teamTBB under Brett Sutton
hierarchical_section_title: Chrissie Wellington / Triathlon career (professional) / 2007–2008: life with teamTBB under Brett Sutton
caption_attribution_description: English: A photo of Chrissie Wellington competing in the the 2008 Frankfurt Ironman triathlon.
context_page_description: Christine Ann Wellington OBE is an English former professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion. She holds, or held, all three world and championship records relating to ironman-distance triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance.
  She won the World Championship in three consecutive years, but could not start the 2010 World Championship race because of illness, then – while suffering from injuries so severe that her former coach Brett Sutton said she should "not even be on the start line" – regained the title in 2011. She is the first British athlete to hold the Ironman Triathlon World Championship, and was undefeated in all thirteen of her races over the ironman distance.
context_section_description: After winning the world amateur title, Wellington began to consider taking the risk of giving up her job in order to become a professional triathlete. In January 2007, on the recommendation of a friend, she travelled to Switzerland to ask the opinion of the Australian triathlon coach, Brett Sutton. Within 5 days she had handed in her notice at DEFRA, and in February flew out to Thailand to join Sutton's teamTBB at their base in Phuket.
  She turned professional with the intention of racing standard-distance events, and enjoyed early success, winning Olympic-distance events in Bangkok and Subic Bay, then returned to the UK where she won the sprint-distance event at Bleinheim. Later the same month she entered her first longer-distance event, the UK half-Ironman race at Wimbleball, but suffered mechanical problems with her bicycle (forcing her to climb the steep Exmoor hills in too high a gear) and finished in 5th place. She returned to winning form only six days later, at the shorter Zürich triathlon.
  On 1 August 2007, Wellington took on her toughest challenge to date, the long-distance Alpe d'Huez Triathlon, known for its difficult summer heat, its altitude, and its hard climbs on both the bike and running stages. Despite a puncture and being forced off the road by an oncoming vehicle during a fast descent, she finished the bike stage 19 mins 30 sec in front of her nearest rival, Sione Jongstra, and extended her lead on the running stage to win the race by over 29 minutes, in 9th place overall.
  Towards the end of July, her coach had suggested that she was ready for an Ironman, despite the relatively low volume of her training. She said of Sutton, "my training was more geared to standard distance, with not much high volume. I don't seem to need high-volume work like three-hour runs. I've done none of these since I've been with Brett. Some of the other girls will. This is why he is so special: he has an ability to spot potential even if the athlete can't. He said I was ready even on the training I was doing."
  After 10 days of acclimatisation at her team's base in Thailand, Wellington won Ironman Korea, in very hot conditions, finishing over 50 minutes ahead of 2nd placed Yasuko Miyazaki, in 7th place overall. By winning this race, she earned a slot to race at the Ironman world championships in Hawaii.
caption: Chrissie Wellington competing at the 2008 Frankfurt Ironman
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