Lauren Steadman, a Bronze Medallist at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Game, is a talented athlete who previously specialised in swimming before becoming a Paratriathlete. Throughout her sporting career, Lauren has channelled her drive and determination to take countless victories in paratriathlon and swimming for her country. Born with a missing lower right arm, Lauren has overcome challenges to reach victory. Today she uses her experience of perseverance, optimising peak performance and overcoming adversity to deliver a range of public speeches, enriching audiences with her tales of sporting success.
First encouraged to try triathlons by her uncle, Lauren has been competing in the sport for a large portion of her life. Whilst studying for a BSc in Psychology and a Masters in Business and Management, Lauren took part in triathlons in her spare time and developed a passion for the swim, run and cycle events. Since her first attempts at triathlons, Lauren has since gone on to claim countless victories. She has competed at numerous Olympic Games, first representing Great Britain in swimming at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. She later competed in swimming at the 2012 London Olympic Games before switching to the triathlon event and taking home a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In 2021, Lauren returned to compete at the Paralympic Games, taking home a Paralympic Gold in the PTS5 Triathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Alongside the Paralympics, Lauren has also competed in several World and European Championships. Since her first successes in sport, Lauren has now claimed an impressive tally of 21 gold medals and six silver medals across a range of top tier competitions. She has been the Paratriathlon World Champion in 2014 and 2015 and has been the European Paratriathlon Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Lauren is also fortunate to hold the world record for the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, with an impressive time of 4:33.45.
Today, Lauren is highly sought as a public speaker for a range of corporate and sports events. Throughout her life, Lauren has never let her disability stop her from achieving her ambitions, and has instead used it as motivation to overcome barriers. Lauren has also become a TV personality, appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 reaching the semi-finals and then SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2020 reaching the final two. She was also awarded an MBE in 2022. As a speaker, Lauren engages audiences with tales of her success encouraging others to challenge their boundaries and achieve their potential.
