Meet our September cover star: Lauren Steadman
In 2018, our September cover star Lauren Steadman Paso Doble'd her way into the nation’s hearts on the BBC’s Saturday night sequins-and-glitter fest Strictly Come Dancing. Two years later, she endured interrogation, deprivation and Joey Essex to reach the final of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. She has a first in psychology, a master’s in business and management, and is currently doing a PhD in athlete welfare. Oh, and Lauren Steadman is also the reigning Paralympic triathlon champion.
That a woman heading into her fifth Paralympics as champion, with a string of European and world titles to her name, should be known as much for her extra curricular activities as her athletic CV is astonishing. It’s testament to a restless personality and an insatiable desire for both self-improvement and pushing boundaries.
‘I have a tendency to say “yes” to things,’ says the 31-year-old, who was born without a lower right arm yet excelled at swimming. Explaining her mindset, she says, ‘Whenever I speak to a room full of people, I always challenge them and say, “Why do we have boundaries? Why do we stay in our comfort zone?” For me, I’m always trying to prove myself, to see what I can continue to be. I always want to be adding to my arsenal.’
There’s a spin-off benefit to this philosophy that Steadman is only too aware of. The higher her profile grows, the greater her capacity to influence the lives of those with similar disabilities. ‘When I was on Strictly, an old lady wrote to say that she lost her arm to meningitis and had never not worn prosthesis. After seeing me dancing on the show, she went to Sainsbury’s without her arm. To have that level of impact on someone... it’s priceless.’
Steadman’s path to Paris has been far from a waltz, however. After Tokyo, she took two years out of competitive action. She thought she’d fallen out of love with triathlon. In fact, she subsequently realised, it was the regimented training that had left her disenchanted. Relocating to Lanzarote was a positive step – ‘when I’m out on an island in the middle of nowhere, I can really focus on just eat, sleep, train, repeat,’ she says – but this was cut short by visa issues and the return of some long Covid symptoms.
Back in the UK, she’s been able to fine-tune her training and is now confident and more composed than she’s ever been. ‘I’m actually feeling very different to how I felt before any previous games,’ says Steadman, who competes in the PTS5 category. ‘As I’ve got older, I’ve realised what I need to focus on and how I actually work as an athlete: what keeps me calm, what gets me raring to go – and the things you’re wasting your mental energy thinking about.’
She’s ridden the triathlon course and says she ‘can picture it in my head’. She’s desperate to do justice to the defending champion tag. And once it’s all over? Feet up with a cuppa? As if. For this force of nature, the next summit has already been identified: to qualify for the 2026 Milan Winter Paralympic Games in cross-country skiing. Training will start almost immediately after Paris, giving her 18 months to add yet another elite-level skill set to her remarkable portfolio as she continues to challenge prejudices and preconceptions. ‘It’s all about changing mindsets,’ she says. ‘As I always say: it’s not disability, it’s just someone living a slightly different life.’
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