British Paralympics hopeful is a uni student, 21, dreaming of qualifying for Paris

Henry Urand hid his triathlon exploits from his insurance broker colleagues but is now targeting a first Paralympic Games.

The 21-year-old was previously part of British Cycling’s Para-Cycling Development Programme but took up running during his lunch breaks from an industry placement with Amazon.

He is now part of British Triathlon’s World Class Programme and is on track to compete for Great Britain at Paris 2024.

“I started in cycling when I was around 16, 17 and didn’t initially take it really seriously,” Urand said. “But around the lockdown time I started to train more and more on the bike.

“And then last year I was on placement working in the city and was struggling to have enough time to ride.

“And what I needed was to push that on a bit more so I started going for runs at lunch and after work and fitting it around commuting and really enjoyed it and thought maybe I will give this triathlon thing a go, and I have never really looked back.

“I had a big aerobic base through cycling which transferred into running, we had a few barriers with the swim but we got there and we’re now pushing on.

“I worked for Amazon as an insurance broker, I really really loved it, it was intense.

“I worked with some really clever people but that side of life is very different to the elite sport side of life. This is a lot quieter and you are just focussed on yourself whereas there are all sorts of distractions in that corporate world.”

Urand is still combining triathlon with the final year of his economics degree at Loughborough University.

However, the transition to World Class Programme has allowed the PTS3 athlete to surge onto a first World Triathlon Para Series podium.

Urand finished second in Devonport to kick off his season, backing that up with another silver medal at the Para Cup in Yenisehir.

His first-ever international race did not have the best preparation as Urand kept working right up until the race in Besancon, going on to finish eighth.

He added: “I took my laptop to the World Cup and sat in the hotel, and answered calls and did all my work.

“The only day I had off, I snuck out to go do and the recces and came back and worked into the evening the night before the race.

“I was back at my desk on Monday and got asked how my weekend was and I said I raced in a World Cup in France, they said, ‘oh cool’ and that was it you got on with the day.

“It is a world that a lot of them are interested in, a lot of them do triathlons or swim, bike or run.

“But I kept it so under wraps, I didn’t want it to be a thing, I wanted people to judge me on the quality of my work not whether I was a good athlete or not.

“Some of them knew, my closer friends at work. They also don’t care they live in such a bubble, of this is what we do, nothing else matters.”

Urand will now return to the scene of his first home Para Series race for the World Triathlon Para Series in Swansea.

Last year, he finished eighth before going on to claim his first British title the next month.

Now, Swansea will be crucial for securing qualification points to achieve a place at Paris 2024, which was a dream that seemed far away even a year ago.

“I worked at Amazon for a year and I remember four months into it my dad picked me up somewhere and I remember him saying to me ‘Are you done with sport?’” he said.

“And I wasn’t sure, I was really enjoying what I was doing and there were times where I thought maybe I’ll go into that life, but triathlon gave me the opportunity to come back and now I am the luckiest person in the world.

“I get to swim, bike and run and it is a whole different world, they are almost not comparable.

“It was difficult juggling between the two, there is a balance to be had, I am not saying it can’t be done and I got that balance wrong a few times, but that’s life and it is all part of the learning.

“This time last year I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me, it is a surreal moment to be in this position.

“I do have to level myself because it almost feels so close but yet so far but to go would be unreal.

“It would be an experience that I have dreamt about but has become a real possibility over the last eight months and it is what I wake up every day wanting to do and that is the reason I am out the door training, to be there on that start line on 1 September.”

The world’s best paratriathletes return to Swansea on Saturday 22 June. The city will come alive with swim, bike, run ahead of the Paris Paralympic Games, with Swansea one of the final opportunities to secure crucial qualification points. Find out more at: https://www.britishtriathlon.org/events/major-events/world-triathlon-para-series-swansea