other_interests birth_date residence alma_mater country team image name caption coach birth_place height nickname retired website agent weight article_title turnedpro
international development gender equality 18 february 1977 bristol , uk university of birmingham university of manchester uk teamtbb -lrb- 2007-2008 -rrb- ironman-2008-ffm-wellington001 . jpg chrissie wellington wellington winning the 2008 frankfurt ironman frank -lrb- 2006 -rrb- brett sutton -lrb- 2007 -- 2008 -rrb- horwill simon lessing -lrb- 2009 -rrb- self-coached -lrb- 2009 -rrb- dave -lrb- scott -lrb- 2009 -- 2011 -rrb- 2002 -- 2004 -rrb- tim weeks bury st edmunds , suffolk , england 1.70 m ftin 0 on '' muppet '' '' the chrissinator '' january 2012 footnotes = lizzie chapman , wasserman media group 60 kg lb 0 on chrissie wellington
 february 2007
chrissie wellington

christine ann wellington mbe -lrb- born 18 february 1977 -rrb- 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 -lrb- from 2009 until mirinda carfrae lowered it in 2013 -rrb- , 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 -lrb- 2007 -- 2009 -rrb- , 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 .
she is the only triathlete , male or female , to have won the world championship less than a year after turning professional , an achievement described by the british triathlon federation as `` a remarkable feat , deemed to be a near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first ironman world championships . ''
she lowered the world record on all three occasions -lrb- 2009 -- 2011 -rrb- she raced challenge roth -lrb- formerly quelle challenge roth -rrb- at roth in bavaria , germany .
her current record of 8 hours 18 minutes 13 seconds is more than 32 minutes faster than the record which stood from 1994 to 2008 , when yvonne van vlerken broke it by just over 5 minutes .
following her 2010 world record , her former coach brett sutton described wellington as `` a person of true international sporting excellence that is overshadowed by no one in any other sport . ''
wellington is one of only three women to have achieved three consecutive victories at the ironman world championships , the other two being natascha badmann and paula newby-fraser .
the latter 's course record at the world championships had stood for 17 years until wellington broke it in 2009 .
wellington holds the four fastest times ever recorded by a woman over the ironman distance , and has the greatest number of sub-9 hour times -- nine , five more than newby-fraser 's previous record .
in addition to the ironman titles , she was also the 2006 international triathlon union -lrb- itu -rrb- age group world champion and the 2008 itu long-distance world champion .
before becoming a professional triathlete , wellington worked for the british government as an adviser on international development and , for rural reconstruction nepal , on development projects in nepal .
international development remains one of her passions .
she is actively involved in supporting charities relating to international development and supporting and encouraging women and girls to take up sport .
she became , after meeting the parents of jon blais at her first world championship , an ambassador for the blazeman foundation , performing a `` blazeman roll '' in his memory at the finish line of all her triathlon races since then .
she campaigns for full equality of women in prize money , sponsorship , and media reporting of sport , and equal opportunities , notably in cycling , for women to be able to compete on the same terms , and over the same race distances , as men .
