Georgia Taylor-Brown’s glad to be ‘happy, healthy and ready to go’ in Paris

There will be few British athletes happier to have made it to the start-line in Paris than Georgia Taylor-Brown.

Whether or not the triathlete succeeds in repeating her Tokyo success, where she claimed individual silver and a gold medal in the mixed team relay, overcoming injury struggles and problems in her personal life means she already feels she has won.

Japan could not have gone better professionally for Taylor-Brown but privately she was dealing with the effects of the addiction and mental health difficulties of her then long-term boyfriend, former Team Sky cyclist Josh Edmondson.

Triathlon was her escape but things eventually unravelled and, despite ending the relationship several months earlier, Taylor-Brown’s primary reaction when she suffered a serious calf tear last summer was relief.

“It’s not easy taking injuries because it’s my whole life, triathlon, and to have that taken away by an injury is awful,” she told the PA news agency.

“But I also just wasn’t enjoying the sport at the time. Last year was a really tricky year. I fell out of love with the sport. So, for me, getting injured, it was almost like, ‘Thank God I don’t have to do it for the rest of the year’.

“I knew then that I just had to take a little step back and find the love for the sport again. And I really did. Through the winter I trained really hard and I was so excited to get back racing again.

The calf injury put Taylor-Brown’s Olympic qualification in doubt but she returned to competition in March and did enough to earn one of three spots in a very strong British women’s team.

“I’m really, really happy,” she said. “There were points where it was touch and go. I wasn’t confident. But I knew I had to at least try to come back and do the rehab as well as I could. I’ve got myself here. I’m fit, I’m happy, I’m healthy, and I’m ready to go. I’m really, really proud of where I’ve got myself to.”

Another big reason behind Taylor-Brown’s beaming smile is her current relationship with French triathlete Vincent Luis, who missed out on selection for his home Games but has been helping his girlfriend with her preparations.

Taylor-Brown is certainly a medal contender at her best but the main British hope is Scot Beth Potter.

Not only is the 32-year-old the reigning world champion, she also beat big home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand at the test event over the Olympic course in Paris last August.

This will be Potter’s Games debut in triathlon but not overall, with the Glaswegian having raced in the 10,000 metres on the track in Rio eight years ago.

“Last year exceeded all my expectations,” she said. “It was a really big step up in competition for me.

“I’ve done everything I possibly could in order to prepare for these Games. Obviously I want to do well but I know I’ve given it everything so I hope I can stand on the start-line and just be satisfied.

“It’s been a journey, it’s been difficult, it’s been an uphill battle but I feel very proud to stand here in the kit in a different sport and hopefully I can go and do my country proud.”

Kate Waugh, the third member of the team, is making her Olympic debut and is ranked fifth in the world.