Steadman's race for Paris fitness after long Covid

Paralympic champion Lauren Steadman says she "doesn't consciousness ready" to compete aft suffering from agelong Covid, contempt being named successful nan British triathlon squad for Paris 2024.

Steadman, 31, won Paralympic golden 3 years agone successful Tokyo successful nan women's PTS5 triathlon and will compete successful that subject again successful France.

She forms portion of an 11-strong ParalympicsGB squad for Paris 2024 who, on pinch 3 guides, will title connected 1 and 2 September.

Since Tokyo, Steadman took a two-year break from triathlon and has fallen to 11th successful nan world rankings.

She has returned to title successful nan build-up to Paris 2024, but said that her preparations person been severely hampered aft testing affirmative for coronavirus successful March - and was not cleared to title again by doctors until past Sunday.

"Covid attacked my cardinal tense system, and I’ve had agelong Covid since," she told BBC Sport. "I haven't had nan mentation I would for illustration to person done, nan aesculapian unit person looked aft my training.

"The normal benchmarks for maine to activity retired really I person been doing, but I haven't been connected a bluish carpet this week, I haven't raced immoderate of nan girls truthful I don't cognize wherever they are astatine aliases wherever I'm at. So location are a batch of unknowns.

"But I only person 1 body, I respect it, and we person different six weeks. I conscionable person to person assurance and usage my acquisition that my assemblage will get maine there. You cannot push things erstwhile it comes to breathing."

Asked whether she will beryllium fresh for nan games, Steadman said: "It is going to beryllium a good line. Normally I would for illustration to consciousness fresh to title astir 3 months earlier a Games. I don't consciousness fresh correct now.

"We person a scheme which will beryllium down to nan line, truthful I apt won't consciousness title fresh until a mates of weeks before."

The women's PTS5 triathlon is scheduled to return spot successful Paris connected 1 September.

Steadman still expects to beryllium competing for a badge connected that day against British team-mate Claire Cashmore and American triathlete Grace Norman, who are classed 1 and 2 successful nan world successful her category.

They are besides nan 2 women Steadman hit to golden successful Tokyo, pinch Norman taking metallic while Cashmore had to settee for bronze aft receiving a one-minute punishment for a drafting violation.

Among nan different members of nan British squad are six-time world champion Dave Ellis - who will title pinch guideline Luke Pollard - and Rio 2016 metallic medallist Alison Peasgood, alongside her guideline Brooke Gillies.

Michael Taylor will besides return having vanished seventh successful Tokyo, while Mel Nicholls will compete successful her 3rd Paralympic Games and her first since moving into Para-triathlon from athletics.

Paralympic debutants Henry Urand, Finley Jakes, Hannah Moore, Megan Richter and Oscar Kelly - pinch guideline Charlie Harding - complete nan GB team.

After reaching nan pinnacle of her profession successful Tokyo, Steadman says she struggled pinch nan comedown and fell retired of emotion pinch nan sport.

She has antecedently explored options extracurricular of triathlon - astir notably erstwhile reaching nan quarter-finals of Strictly Come Dancing successful 2018 - and has besides begun training successful cross-country skiing successful nan dream of representing Great Britain astatine nan Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics.

But having returned to triathlon, she says nan profession break was nan champion point she could person done.

"After getting golden it was hardest portion of my full career," she said. "I needed to hole myself for nan aftermath. I was conscionable sat astatine location pinch my golden badge connected nan sofa, not judge what to do pinch myself.

"I didn't want to discontinue and British Triathlon were awesome successful supporting me. I wanted to get [back] successful touch pinch that small woman who loved sport.

"Now I'm backmost and I emotion it. Having clip retired allowed maine to activity retired who I am, extracurricular of sport."

Both Steadman and Cashmore are knowledgeable Paralympians - Paris will beryllium their 5th and sixth Games respectively.

And Cashmore, who won Paralympic golden successful swimming astatine Rio 2016 earlier switching to triathlon, is fresh to usage each her anterior acquisition - bully and bad - to apical nan podium this year.

The 36-year-old is successful red-hot shape - apical of nan world rankings, victorious successful 3 awesome races this almanac year, and victor of 3 successive European titles since Tokyo.

"Tokyo was a learning curve, I sewage a batch of things incorrect successful nan race," she said. "It makes you turn arsenic an athlete. But now I americium successful really bully shape.

"The dream is to person a soft race. That's very uncommon successful triathlon, not for illustration swimming erstwhile successful safe environment. But it's fixed maine much information complete nan past 3 years."