In 2009 I was appointed Event Director by Upsolut Sports to create, from the ground up, the first professional and mass-participation triathlon to be staged in central London.
The brief was simple in ambition and complex in reality: deliver an Olympic-distance triathlon through Hyde Park and the roads surrounding Buckingham Palace – within one of the most sensitive and heavily regulated urban environments in the United Kingdom.
The project required navigating significant political and cultural challenges, securing permissions, designing a safe and broadcast-ready course, integrating elite and age-group racing, and coordinating across city authorities, Royal Parks, security services and international sporting bodies. At the time, no precedent existed for staging a triathlon of this scale in central London.
Held over 15–16 August, the 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series formed part of the inaugural ITU World Championship Series and became the largest race of the season. The Olympic-distance course featured a 1.5km swim in the Serpentine, a 40km bike course through central London, and a 10km run within Hyde Park.
The London event went on to serve as the template and venue for the triathlon competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games, establishing a lasting sporting legacy within the capital.
