The Biggest Loser contestants battled to see who was the Triathlon Champion among them after their training sessions with two Olympic medallists.

Injured

The final challenge was only 24 hours away and Katey was laid up in bed with an injured ankle. The medic had applied ice to bring the swelling down so they could see what the damage was. Katey had twisted her ankle during a training session with Richard and was worried that it could scupper her chances in the Triathlon Challenge.

She was home alone as everyone else had gone to do some swimming training with another Olympian and she was gutted that she couldn’t go. To add insult to injury, she said that swimming was one of her favourite things to do!

While the rest of the teams were testing their water wings in the pool, Katey went to see the doctor to see if she would be able to take part in the challenge. She explained to the doctor what she had done and that it was quite sore but she said she could put weight on it.

He examined her ankle and explained that there are three ligaments that come down the side of the ankle and he thought she had probably torn the ligament that goes across the top. He said that although it was painful, it wasn’t too bad so she would be able to take part in the Triathlon Challenge. She looked really happy with that decision.

Water Wings Not Required

The rest of the contestants journeyed to a nearby swimming pool to meet up with an Olympic Medallist that was going to help them with their swimming techniques.

They were all stood by the edge of the pool and Angie told them that they had enlisted the help one of Britain’s most successful swimmers – five time Olympian, Mark Foster. Sadie said later,

‘Me and Maria kind of looked to the left and we saw Mark Foster coming out of the water and we both kind of just stopped for a second and thought, ooooh who’s this hunky man coming to teach us!’

The look on Sadie’s face was a picture when she saw Mark getting out of the water. She had a little grin on her face and her eyebrows were slightly raised. She obviously approved! She wasn’t the only one! Carol said,

‘This really sort of sleek, toned, athletic, very tall, handsome man just appears out just like magic really, out of the water! He’s a bit of an Adonis really wasn’t he, you know, a real God!’ Ooooh Carol, you are naughty!

Mark said hello to everyone and went on to explain that he was going to try and help them out with the swimming part of the Triathlon. He said he was going to try and teach them some of the things that he had learnt over the years. The girls were listening very intently. In fact, you could say they were hanging off his every word!

Time for a Dip?

He got them all in the water to start the training with Angie and Richard watching from the side. Both Maria and Kevin said that they were excited about the swimming lesson. Kevin said it was mainly because he’s not that good at swimming and he thought it was great that he was going to taught how to swim properly by an Olympiad. Sadie said,

‘When I realised it was Mark Foster that would be training us and, you know, he’s a five time Olympian, I just thought, well I hope I’m going to be able to keep up with him and the techniques that he’s teaching us, you know, I hope I’m going to be able to do it! It’s an amazing opportunity and, you know, he’s nice to look at’ she laughed a really naughty laugh! Behave yourself Sadie, your mum might be watching!

Mark started by teaching them to push off and glide because he said they would be doing that a few times during the Triathlon. He showed them the right position for streamlining their arms and how to push off from the side and glide through the water. He also told them that breathing and being relaxed are the two keys to being successful at swimming.

Mark said that his first impression of Sadie was that she was good, she just needed to remember to breathe and try and relax! Jamie was next and Mark said that because he was heavier, he was lower in the water so he had to fight a bit harder than the others. He also felt that Jamie kept giving up before he’d really given it a go. Mark said that Carol was relaxed and no matter what you put in front of her, 200 metres, 400 metres, she could do it.

Kevin and Sadie said they were both a bit more confident after the session but, Sadie said she was still a little scared. Maybe she was just hoping that Mark would come along to hold her hand!

Full Cycle

The next stop for the contestants was to get some cycle training for that part of the Triathlon. Sadie said they had no idea who would be training them but they knew it would be someone good. She went on to say that she was really nervous about riding the bike in front of the new trainer because he was going to be able to tell straight away that she was a novice.

They got to the track and saw a guy cycling round it quite quickly. Kevin said he looked really professional and they knew he was going to show them how it was done! Richard introduced them to Olympic Champion, Jamie Staff. He told them Jamie had won gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Jamie Staff said that he was going to give them some tips and help them improve their cycle riding to get them through the cycle part of the Triathlon Challenge. Sadie said if anyone could teach her how to ride properly, it was going to be Jamie!

Jamie was up first to get some hints from the Olympiad. He said later,

‘At the cycling training session obviously, I got to learn some new techniques of riding the bike. I did get a lot of speed up and I was very controlled in my turnings so, I’m looking forward to this stage,’

Jamie Staff took Kevin off next and Kevin said it was a bit nerve-racking with the wheels being so thin! He said that he would like to think Jamie was impressed with his cycling but it was a bit hard to tell.

Carol went off next and was a little wobbly to start with. She said she had never ridden a race bike before. She said,

‘Normally, I’m just a little lady’s shopping bike and I dawdle me way to the shops. This was a different kettle of fish, this was a lovely bike that we were on,’

Jamie said that Carol looked really comfortable on the bike and that she had great leg speed and she was holding a really straight line. He reckoned she was going to be a real contender in the race.

He took Maria off next and Jamie explained about the brakes and the gears. He asked her if the position she was in was comfortable and she said the seat was a bit hard! He said she looked fine and didn’t seem too stressed out by it. He said later that she was really good. He said she looked comfortable, had full comprehension of the gears and the brakes and he felt she was going to be pretty quick when it came to the race.

Novice cyclist Sadie was next to spend some time with Jamie. She was obviously embarrassed when she started off and got off to a bit of a shaky start. Carol said,

‘I really admire Sadie because she’s not long learned to ride a bike and she just gets on with it. She’s absolutely wonderful and so inspiring to watch!’

Her cycling definitely improved during the session with Jamie. She said the fact that she could follow the line just after a few words from him just shows how good he is. Kevin said that he thought she was amazing and during the session, she managed to stop wandering all over the track.

Unfortunately, her braking technique wasn’t so good and when she tried to stop she lost control a little and ended up on the floor. She said that it really hurt when she fell off but she tried to be as tough as possible and just dusted herself off. She said that if she was being honest, she was fighting back the tears. Jamie Staff said,

‘I take my hat off to her. She’s done really well and to come out here under this kind of pressure, again with not much practice. But once she was going, she seemed okay. She’s a tough cookie so she’ll be fine!’

Triathlon Training – The Blues

Richard was waiting outside for the Blue team to join him for some Triathlon training. It was early in the morning but the Triathlon was only a few hours away and Richard wanted to prepare his team mentally. He said,

‘Today is about mind-set. The Triathlon is one of the toughest disciplines out there. It’s not gonna be just physical – physical is the easy part. Okay, you can train in the gym, you can go outside. It’s when that pain hits, the difference between someone who finishes and the person who doesn’t, i.e. quits, it’s all up there. It’s mental,’

He got them started with weighted punches. He said later that the weights were not light and it took a lot to keep punching through with burning in the shoulders, pains in your back and chest. He was trying to get Katey and Jamie to push themselves through the pain barrier.

While Katey and Jamie were doing the weighted punches, Richard was telling them to do it faster and build up their mental strength. He was stood between them showing them the technique and speed they needed for the exercise.

Then he got them into the plank position but with them on their hands and not their forearms. This is a really hard position to stay in for any length of time and your body soon starts to wobble and shake. Jamie stopped first because he was losing the feeling in his hands and Richard was not impressed! He told Jamie that every time he stopped it was just an excuse.

Then Richard got them down on all fours with him lying across their backs and told them to do five press ups. Once they had done the five, Richard asked them where they were on a scale of 1 to 10 for pain. They both said 9! He said he didn’t want to hurt them so he was going to let them finish in a minute but, not until they had given him another 10! Katey said,

‘Doing the session with Richard today on the mental strength has given me the self belief that I can do things, even if I wanna quit, it’s not gonna happen now because I can go through them!’

Triathlon Training – The Blacks

Angie was also waiting outside for her team to join her for their Triathlon mental strength training. Kevin said that as they walked out, the first thing he noticed was the medicine balls and the kettlebells and he knew this was going to be tough! Angie said that they had a Triathlon coming up and that it would be very tough. She went on to say,

‘As you know, it’s as much about mental focus and mental discipline as it is about physical strength and endurance. I need to prepare you for that. We can train for it physically but we need to train for it mentally because that’s truthfully what’s gonna make the difference. And it’s how much of that you’re willing to deal with and whether you can deal with it or not. So that’s what we’ve got to look at today. That’s what this simple little drill is about. It’s pretty much about how much pain you can endure and whether you’ll give up or not,’

She wanted them to pick up the medicine ball and hold it above their heads until she told them they could bring it down. If they brought it down before she said, they would fail. Sadie said that when Angie told them the training was all about mental focus she was a little bit relieved but, when Angie told them it was about pushing through pain, then she got a little bit more scared!

Angie told them holding the medicine balls above their heads would feel okay for about 30 seconds but then it was going to feel like a world of hell! They all looked really strong and focussed to begin with but the cracks soon started to show. Angie told them that pain was their friend this week and they had to deal with it to succeed at the Triathlon. Sadie said,

‘While I was in a lot of pain with the medicine ball, I just honestly focussed on a tree and I thought, right if you just stare at that and try and kinda zone out then maybe you’ll get through it,’

Maria said the pain was unbearable. She said she was so focussed that she didn’t even know what the others in her team were doing – she just switched off completely. Kevin said that if he dropped it he would be failing and giving in and he didn’t want that at all. He said later,

‘I wanted to do it for the people at home. I wanted to show them that I’m a different person. I wanted to show them that I’m strong. I wanted to show them that I can handle any challenge that is put before me!’

Kevin was really struggling and almost dropped the ball. His left arm was going and just wouldn’t hold the ball for any longer. Finally, Angie told them they could drop the ball and Kevin heaved a sigh of relief and said a very naughty word!

Angie got them started on the next drill straight away, even though she knew they were really tired. Angie wanted them to do kettlebell swings. She told them they knew their way round a kettlebell and so she wanted quality swings. She said when the pain kicked in the body was going to start wanting to get sloppy and they had to push through that and not let it.

When they had finished Angie told them they were outstanding and that she knew the session had been horrendous. She was chuffed to bits that not one of them had given up and failed. She said later,

‘The session was a massive success for me and each single one of them found something inside of them that they didn’t know existed and that will get them through, not just the Triathlon and the competition but all the other challenges they’re gonna face when they’re in the outside world!’

The Biggest Loser Triathlon

 All of the contestants were deemed fit enough for the Triathlon Challenge. Kevin said that just taking part in this challenge was very important to him but, if his very best was better than everyone else, that would be a bonus. Sadie said that she thought they were all pretty evenly matched so she could stand a chance of winning.

First Leg - Swimming

The first leg was the swimming and they all filed out into the pool area. Carol said later,

‘This is a big moment. We have the hats, we have the goggles, we have the costumes. We have been trained by the best Olympic athletes. This is serious stuff!’

Sadie said later that taking part in a Triathlon was a really big deal for her because she wasn’t that physical at school and the fact that it was going to be tough showed her how far she had come.

Kate Garraway welcomed them to the first leg and told them they would be swimming 50 metres. She went on to tell them they would be doing a 2,400 metre cycle race next, followed by a 400 metre running race. She said that each race would be timed and they would add the times together to get an overall result. The person with the overall fastest time would be the winner. She told them there wasn’t a prize for this challenge and that it wasn’t about doing it for the team. It was all about doing it for themselves and personal achievement.

So, they started the swimming leg of the challenge. Katey was in lane 6 and managed to get herself a little ahead of the others at the start and Jamie, in lane 1, was a little behind. Kevin said that by the time he had finished the first length he felt his arms no longer belonged to him!

Katey was quite a way out in front but she could hear Maria closing in on her and knew that Kevin couldn’t be that far behind. Maria said she could see Kevin coming up behind her and she really didn’t want him to beat her so she just tried to go as fast as she could.

Katey came in first with Maria next and Kevin and Carol almost tying for third position. Katey was 8 seconds faster than Maria!

Second Leg – Cycling

Kevin said they arrived at the stadium where the cycle race would be held and it was immense! Katey said later,

‘It was like whoa! I’ve got to run round that and cycle round it! It’s way too big!’

Kate Garraway explained that they were in the biggest athletics stadium in the country and that it was where they would do the next two legs of the Triathlon. She said the second leg would be the cycle race and they had to complete 2,400 metres (6 laps of the track). Maria said,

‘As we were on the starting line, waiting to go, I looked over and I thought, ooh Kev’s pretty fast and I would say Kev and Carol were probably my two biggest threats in the race,’

Carol said that she knew her time at the swimming wasn’t great so she really had to make up for it in this event to be in with a chance of winning. Carol is always so determined, she really is a force to be reckoned with!

Kevin got off to a good start with Jamie hot on his heels. Carol said they heard the starter pistol and Kevin just shot straight out in front of them. Unfortunately, Sadie didn’t start so well and ended up off the track but she soon got back on and carried on with the race. Maria was doing really well and had almost caught up with Kevin but, Katey and Sadie were bringing up the rear. Katey said that she and Jamie were fairly close and that she wanted to beat him in this race because he is normally her competition.

They got to the 4th lap and Carol said she knew they only had two more laps to go so she pulled some energy out of nowhere and really went for it. She managed to get past Kevin and Maria and then managed to get a little bit ahead! As soon as Carol went past them, Kevin said that Maria started to put her foot down and he was in trouble.

Carol said on the 5th lap she could just about hear Maria panting up behind her. At this point, Carol said that her thighs were starting to hurt and her knee was giving way on her but, she knew it was only one more lap and she really wanted to keep her speed going! Maria did manage to just get past Carol in time to cross the finish line first!

Third Leg – Running

The contestants had a quick break after the cycling and then got right back on the track for the 3rd and final leg of the Triathlon. For this race they had to run 400 metres. Carol said that she thought for most of them, this would be the most difficult part of the Triathlon but that it would show each of them how far they had come since joining the Biggest Loser house.

They had a long way to run so, pacing themselves would be important. But they needed to make sure they didn’t lose sight of the fact that it was a race and they needed speed too. Jamie said that at the beginning of the race he could see that Kevin was doing quite well so he had to put in a bit of extra effort to try and keep up with him. Maria said that she was really surprised that Jamie managed to overtake her on the first bend!

Kevin said that they were running well and he could see that Carol was a little in front. Just as they came up to the 200 metre mark, he managed to overtake her. Carol said it wasn’t a big surprise to see Kevin passing her but, the next thing she knew, Jamie was passing her and that was a surprise!

Kevin said that on the last bend coming up to the final straight, he glanced round and saw a Blue t-shirt. He knew it was Jamie and he thought to himself that Jamie was moving quite quickly and that he might be in a bit of trouble so he pushed a little more.

Kevin made it over the finish line first with Jamie close behind and Carol a little way behind him.

Kate Garraway said that what they had achieved was extraordinary. Particularly when you look back to 8 weeks ago and the contestants couldn’t even walk down the drive to the Biggest Loser house without stopping because they were out of breath!

Triathlon Champion

In third place for the bronze medal, with 9 minutes 42 seconds was Maria

In second place for the silver medal, with 9 minutes 39 seconds was Carol

In first place for the gold medal and the title of Biggest Loser Triathlon Champion, with 9 minutes and 25 seconds was Kevin

Maria said she never thought she would ever win a medal, let alone be presented with it by an Olympic Gold Medallist! Carol said she was absolutely jubilant to come second and get a silver medal. Kevin? Well Kevin was so proud of himself and, quite rightly so! He said the best feeling was standing on top of the podium, realising that he’d done a Triathlon AND won it!

Next time the Biggest Loser contestants are confronted with their old selves so make sure you have some tissues handy!