Lauren Campbell

Lauren Groves (born September 2, 1981) is a triathlete from Canada, who won the bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[2]

Lauren Groves
Campbell in 2010
Personal information
Full nameLauren Groves
Nickname(s)Grovesy, Grovez[1]
Born (1981-09-02) 2 September 1981
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
ResidenceSan Jose, California, U.S.
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Country Canada
ClubQueen's Triathlon Club
Retired2012
Medal record
Women's triathlon
Representing  Canada
Pan American Games
2007 Rio de Janeiro Women's
ITU Triathlon World Cup
2012 Edmonton Elite
Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon World Cup
2009 Des Moines Elite
2009 Des Moines Mixed relay

Biography

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Groves started out her sporting career while she was swimming competitively in a local club at the age of six, and also ran cross-country, and track and field. By the age of 19, she decided to focus on triathlon upon her admission at the Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and began training at the Queen's University Triathlon Club. After completing her psychology degree, major in forensics, at the Queen's University, Groves moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where she trained full-time through Pacific Sport at the National Triathlon Training Centre. Groves also admitted that she had never heard of triathlon, until she watched Simon Whitfield competing and winning the gold medal in the men's event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[3]

Triathlon career

Groves made her sporting debut at the 2001 ITU Triathlon World Championship in Edmonton, Alberta, under the junior category, where she finished only in thirty-first place. She later and further improved on her athletic performance and thirty-hour weekly training to set her fourth-place finish at the 2003 ITU Triathlon World Under-23 Championships in Queenstown, New Zealand. After achieving her first best result, Groves was ranked as one of Canada's top triathletes, and continued to build her success in triathlon by winning the 2006 ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup in Roatan, Honduras, and her first national championship in Brampton, Ontario. Groves reached higher into the international level, when she finished fourth, yet missed out the podium at the 2006 ITU Triathlon World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her fourth-place finish at the world championships was the best result by a Canadian female triathlete since Carol Montgomery did further in 2000.[4] She was also ranked third in a career-high World Cup competition after placing eight in Edmonton.[5]

Groves qualified for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and won the bronze medal in the women's triathlon with a time of 1:59:50, just behind the U.S. triathletes Julie Ertel and Sarah Haskins, who both claimed the gold and silver, respectively.[6] Following her success at the Pan American Games, Groves emerged as a medal contender in the international stage, particularly with the World Cup and the Olympics. She won silver at the 2008 PATCO Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico, and finished thirteenth at the ITU Triathlon World Cups in Tongyeong, South Korea and Richards Bay, South Africa.[7]

Groves was selected to the national team, along with Carolyn Murray and Kathy Tremblay, for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and awarded a qualifying place in the women's triathlon. After finishing second at the Pan American Championships and posting a pair of thirteenth-place finishes on the World Cup circuit, she was in good physical form to compete at the Olympics, yet overcame with knee problems that had plagued her most of the year. In the women's event, Groves started out as a possibility of a top ten finish, and maintained her pace in the swimming leg. Finishing only in thirty-first place at both the swimming and first transition phase, Groves had moved her way into a small group of competitors chasing the breakaways of the 40-km cycling race, until one of them went down in front of her, and crashed her bike. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the race, finding herself in an ambulance en route to the hospital, where the medical staff confirmed that she had a fractured radial head in her left elbow. With Groves being injured, her teammates, Murray and Tremblay, finished the event in twenty-ninth and thirty-first place, respectively.[8]

After missing out the 2008 season with an elbow and knee injury, Groves made a comeback in the local and international triathlon scene for the following year. She captured her first World Cup podium finish, by winning the bronze medal at the 2009 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup in Des Moines, Iowa.[9] Groves also led a group of four Canadians, along with Whitfield, Tremblay, and Brent McMahon, to win the bronze for the mixed relay at the inaugural Team World Championship, and received $10,000 each for crossing the finish line with a time of 1:21:31.[10] In the same year, Groves finally achieved her highest placement, by winning gold medals each at the ITU Triathlon Pan American Premium Cup, and at the national championships in Kelowna, sharing the same triumphs with Whitfield in the men's event.[11]

After winning her first title, Groves took a year off from triathlon, following her recovery from a serious physical injury at the world championships, and a prior commitment towards her personal life. In 2011, she returned to the competition and won the bronze medal at both the ITU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Cup, and OTU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Championships in Devonport, Tasmania. In 2012 she earned a ninth-place finish at the ITU Triathlon World Cup in Mooloolaba, Australia, recapturing her success in the international scene, by winning the gold medal at the 2012 ITU Sprint Triathlon Pan American Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados, and claiming her first-ever career World Cup title in Edmonton.[12]

Personal life

Upon retirement from triathlon in 2013, Groves attended Palmer College of Chiropractic's West Campus in San Jose, California, graduating as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 2017. Groves resides in San Jose with her husband, Casey, and their rescue greyhound, Twitter. They are expecting their first child in early 2018.

Achievements

Between 2002 and 2012, Groves took part in 77 triathlon competitions, and had achieved thirty-six top-ten finishes, including eleven medals.[13] Unless indicated otherwise, the events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the Elite category. Championships with medals mentioned below are bolded.

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References
  1. "Lauren Groves – Athlete Profile 2009" (PDF). International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lauren Groves". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  3. Switzer, Jane (12 August 2008). "Our Olympians: Lauren Groves". The Star (Canada). Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. "High Performance – 2007". Triathlon Canada. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  5. "Beijing Spotlight: Team Canada". PATCO Triathlon. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  6. "U.S. dominates triathlon in Pan American Games". China View (Xinhua). 16 July 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  7. "Olympic Odyssey: Groves' Groove". European Triathlon Union. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  8. "Canada's Groves suffers broken left elbow bone". CTV News. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  9. "Canada's Whitfield and Groves Win Gold and Bronze Medals at ITU Elite Cup in Iowa". Triathlon Canada. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  10. "Press Release – Canadian Triathletes Join Forces to Win Bronze Medal at Inaugural Team World Championships in Iowa". SIRC. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  11. "Whitfield and Groves Canadian Champs". ITU World Triathlon Series. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  12. Kim, Paula (9 July 2012). "Lauren Campbell conquers Edmonton for first career World Cup title". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  13. "Results for Lauren Campbell". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
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