Who are we?

I started my sporting career by riding my bike to Croydon

Amphibians Swimming club and Croydon Harriers running

club. It was only a matter of time before all three sports

combined and I started to compete in triathlons. I gained

results immediately and had success with 3rd in the

National schoolboy triathlon championships, and later 6th

in the Youth European Duathlon Championships.

Due to knee problems the following year, I switched my

attentions to cycling. I really enjoyed my cycling and

again results came pretty easily, I was asked to represent

Great Britain as a junior road rider and also in cyclo-cross,

achieving 31st in the 1998 World Championships

These results led to interest from international teams and in 2001 I took the plunge and signed for the Italian DeNardi cycling team. We travelled all over Europe to race, and it was an amazing experience! I learnt a lot about myself, the sport and what it takes to succeed. Despite a good year, I really missed triathlon and made the decision to return to the UK in 2002. It was a good choice and one I’m really glad I made. I’ve had some good success; winning numerous age group races - including the World Championships - and progressed to the position where today, I feel able to challenge for World honours and Ironman victories.

I am focused on reaching the very top in triathlon, but from this passion for my own sporting aims I’ve developed a desire to help others achieve their own personal goals; be it to improve their PB for a certain event, compete in their first triathlon or simply enjoy the sport more.

He started cycling at 13 and met Stephen soon after when

they would try to beat each other at Crystal Palace! By

the time he turned senior, he had been South East champion

at road racing and time trialling. After he left college he went

to live in Belgium with Stephen, where they pretty much

got belted in every race! Some pretty good results

came the following year though and these led to him turning

professional with Team Men's Health. He won a few races

that year and also had a few top 5's in Belgium. The next

couple of years were a bit lean, although he did win the

Elite South East Championships and managed a few

podium places home and abroad.

His lucky break came when friend and ex-team mate

Gordon McCauley moved to the Belgian Professional team RDM-Flanders. He put in a good word for John and with the results he'd had in Belgium, got signed for the team in November 2001. Now he was faced with racing the very biggest races in world - which was a fairly scary prospect!

Initially it was men against boys. Racing with his heroes was fun until they wanted to go fast! He lost the early summer completely following the loss of his father, but by August things were going well. He was placing in the top 20 in some pretty good races and these results got him a place on the only UK professional outfit: Team Endurasport. This meant he left windy Belgium for the Lake Maggiore in Italy. Shame....

He worked so hard to improve as a second year professional, but he was modest in proclaiming he was not physically good enough to be competitive at that level. He trained hard and did everything he could to be involved in the big races, but it never quite happened. He never wanted to be a 'bit' rider: living away from home and his fiancèe Sam was a big sacrifice justified only by big results. So despite placing in the Top 20 in a few races and getting a Top 10 in the UK National road race championships, he called it a day as a European professional.

John tragically passed away in September 2005, taken away by an undiagnosed heart defect. There is a place in all of our hearts that will never be truly filled.