Chrissie Wellington OBE is a retired, British professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion.

She holds, or held, all three world and championship records relating to ironman triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance.

She won the World Championship in three consecutive years (2007–2009), but could not start the 2010 World Championship race because of illness, then regained the title in 2011. She is the first British athlete to hold the Ironman Triathlon World Championship, and was undefeated in all thirteen of her races over the ironman distance. She is the only triathlete, male or female, to have won the World Championship less than a year after turning professional, an achievement described by the British Triathlon Federation as "a remarkable feat, deemed to be a near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first Ironman World Championships."

Since retiring in 2012 Chrissie has done countless endurance events, from cycling sportives, to marathons and ultra-marathons and even a cross country ski marathon or two!  

Chrissie was awarded a first-class degree by the University of Birmingham (BsC Geography) and a Distinction from the University of Manchester (MA Econ Development Studies). Prior to becoming a professional athlete in 2007, she worked for the British Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as a policy adviser on international development and also managed water and sanitation projects in Nepal.

Chrissie now devotes her life to development work, and specifically interventions to increase participation in physical activity. She now works full time as Global Head of Health and Wellbeing for parkrun, and was instrumental in developing the junior parkrun series of events across the UK.  

Chrissie published her Sunday Times Best Selling autobiography, A Life Without Limits, in February 2012, and her second book, To the Finish Line: A World Champion Triathlete’s Guide to Your Perfect Race, in September 2017. Chrissie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to sport and charity. She was also named the 2009 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Birmingham and the University of Bristol.

Chrissie firmly believes that sport and physical activity can inspire, empower and change lives. She is determined to drive such change and promote grassroots participation in sport. She and her husband, former professional athlete Tom Lowe, have a daughter Esme.