Inside the Season: Luke McCarron
Luke McCarron has had a busy season so far. In this guest post he brings us through his season so far and big plans for 2026 and beyond…
My name is Luke McCarron and I am a 27-year-old elite triathlete from Derry. I am currently based with my wife, Léa, in Cambridge, UK where we have a great little training group. My first triathlon was Portglenone Sprint Triathlon in 2015 and my first win was Liam Ball Triathlon in 2019. My dream is to compete for Ireland in the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Tell us about your 2025 season...
Until the middle of January I was working as a trainee doctor, so the 2025 season was more opportunistic than precisely planned. Despite the slightly ad hoc nature of the season there were a few highlights including my first international medal at the start of the year in India and a great day out at the Supertri E World Championships. After that I struggled to find my form again through the summer until I managed a 4th place in Algeria the week before my wedding.
The main goal in 2025 was to get a top 8 in a European Cup however I just never managed to get it to fall into place for me when I needed it to and unfortunately my season ended early when I was brought down in a bike crash during the penultimate European Cup of the year.
What's the plan for this year?
Olympic qualification opens in May and runs for two years. The qualification process can be quite complicated but essentially an athlete’s 12 best races contribute to their ranking, and they need to be ranked inside the top 55 athletes to qualify for the Games.
As a result, this year’s goals are split into two parts:
- Before May: to ensure that when Olympic qualification begins, I am ranked highly enough on the world rankings to be able to enter qualifying races.
- After May: to begin Olympic qualification as strongly as I can.
So, what are you doing in africa at the moment?
Good question! Yep currently I am sat in a café in Swakopmund, Namibia having finished the third of four African races that I am doing in March. I travelled out at the beginning of the month to race in South Africa before racing in Zimbabwe last weekend. Tomorrow, I fly back to South Africa to train for a few days in Stellenbosch (a pretty cool place to train in I have to admit!) before travelling to the last race of this series.
I started the year ranked 196th in the world and the main aim of these races was to improve my world ranking so that I was in a good starting place to begin Olympic qualification in May. It’s been an average block of racing so far. I started well placing 9th and 7th which moved me up to 161st in the world rankings. However, I picked up a nasty flu last week and I was not sure I was going to travel to Namibia this weekend. I did travel in the end, but I really struggled to find energy on the race course and I could only manage 20th. Hopefully I can stay healthy this week and finish off this series of African races with another top 10. A result like that would push me towards 140th in the world rankings which would be a success after a couple of illness affected races.
The cost, logistics and time away from loved ones on a trip like this are probably the most difficult parts of racing. Even with having the advice of local athletes and great friends like James Edgar who have done all this before, in one month I’m visiting 3 countries, taking 9 flights (including 2 long hauls), spending 20 hours in transfers and staying in 7 hotels.
By the end of this trip, I will have spent 35 days out of 90 in 2026 away from home for training or racing. In this race series alone, I have gone from racing at 1400m altitude in South Africa in a country club, to racing at 2100m altitude in the jungle in Zimbabwe, to racing at sea level in the desert in Namibia.
I have been quite unlucky having to race once with a cold and then getting a flu before this weekend’s race which obviously costs me world ranking positions and prize money which is vital when everything is self-funded. However aside from the impact on performance, as an athlete travelling on my own, being sick also uses up a lot of mental energy as I have to do all the organisation and make all the decisions.
Nevertheless, no journey is plain sailing and no job is easy – even that of a professional athlete! If you want to succeed you have to take risks – sometimes you get the rub of the green and other times you must play the cards you’re dealt.
It has been an interesting trip so far and I’ve seen some unique places. I am incredibly lucky to have great support from Léa and from both our families – the post-race texts and calls make many a good memory! I am also very grateful to my sponsors Rothaí, Zone3 and the GLL Foundation who make the hurdles that little bit smaller. I am always on the search for more so if anyone would like to be part of the story do reach out to me!
Follow Luke’s journey via his Instagram: @lukemccarron16
