Nine time WTCS medallist Jessica Learmonth has announced that she is pregnant and is expecting in September of this year.
After injury ruled her out of almost all of the 2022 season, her comeback to the top level of the sport will be put on hold for now. With the example of Katie Zaferes and Gwen Jorgensen to follow, as well as the likes of Nicola Spirig hitherto, Learmonth will still have the door open for her to make a return to the sport.
Pertinently, she will be able to make use of the new frozen ranking under World Triathlon’s maternity policy. At this point in time she ranks 130th in the world and so should maintain at least that standing for up to two years after giving birth.
Across an illustrious career, Learmonth earned five WTCS silver medals and has four WTCS bronzes to her name. The most recent of those medals came in Leeds in 2021 where she finished 2nd behind Maya Kingma.
Later that year, she placed 9th at the Tokyo Olympics and was a part of Britain’s gold medal winning Mixed Team Relay at the Games.
Her last WTCS appearance came in Abu Dhabi in November 2021. In what was technically the second race of the 2022 season, Learmonth finished 4th with Sophie Coldwell denying her a tenth WTCS medal.
Learmonth’s pregnancy potentially opens up the competition for a third slot in the British women’s team at next year’s Olympic Games. Georgia Taylor-Brown, Beth Potter and Coldwell are the front runners to be selected, however the selection policy leaves room for another athlete to earn their way into the team.
The likes of Sian Rainsley and Kate Waugh will be among the dark horses in contention and their paths may have become a tad easier without a competitor as experienced and accomplished as Learmonth standing in their way.
While it is now improbable that we will see Learmonth racing this year, there is every chance that she follows the pattern set by Zaferes and Jorgensen and returns to racing at some point in 2024. Should she do so, a tenth WTCS medal and maybe even a first WTCS win could lie in wait.
