Emma Carney
Encyclopedia
Emma Elizabeth Carney is an Australian former professional triathlete and two time World Triathlon Champion
. She is one of the few triathletes in the world to have won two ITU
world titles. She was the world number one triathlete according to ITU rankings in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and achieved 19 World Cup wins, more than any other triathlete except Vanessa Fernandes
. With seven wins in 1996, she also holds the record for the greatest number of ITU World Series wins in a single season.
Carney began her sporting life as a runner: when she was in grade four, she was the only girl to win a medal in the school cross-country
mixed race. As a teenager Carney remembers jogging after school everyday. "From that time on there has hardly been a day when I haven't trained", she said. At 13 she set a Victorian
record in her 3,000 m debut, and at 18 she was winning national school titles. She wanted to go to the Olympics, but realised she wasn't going to hit her peak as a middle-distance athlete until her late 20s. She reached the finals in the under-20 national championships in the 1,500 m
and 3,000 m
. As she thought running for another 10 years would be "boring", she decided instead to do some cross-training and triathlons.
. If you learn to swim and train, you’ll be the best triathlete in the world." She recalled, "My father went over everything I had to do point by point and it all made sense."
at the 1997 Monaco
World Cup, she recorded another four straight World Cup victories, before adding another ITU World Champion title in November. Viral infections meant that she failed to win the 1995 and 1996 World Championships, but still managed to finish second in 1996.
Her fellow 1997 World Champion, Chris McCormack said, "Emma is hard!", referring to her shockingly long training at fearlessly high intensity, and her ruthless ferocity in competition.
World Cup race in April 1998, Carney never again won a World Cup or World Championship race. In July she could only manage 15th in the World Cup race at Gamagori, then failed to finish at the Lausanne
World Championships in August, but partly recovered to finish fourth in the November Auckland
World Cup race. Following a metatarsal injury in 1999 which prevented her running for eight weeks, she finished 3rd in the Montreal
World Championships. In 2000 she failed to qualify for the Australian Olympic women's triathlon team, despite an appeal to the CAS
.
She described this period as a "shitty time", when she could not work out what was wrong. She said, "my reaction to racing badly was to train harder—which was the worst thing I could do for my heart." Despite her problems, she managed to win some races, including the 1998 Australian National Championship, the 1999 Australian Long Course Championship and the 2000 Australian long course and sprint national championships.
in Canada. She was later diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia
, a life-threatening condition that causes the heart to beat too fast and out of control, usually during high-intensity anaerobic exercise
. The doctors found it difficult to diagnose her condition, partly because Carney's resting heart rate when asleep was only 21 bpm. In October 2004 surgeons implanted an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
(ICD) in the right ventricle
of her heart.
She later speculated, "I always raced so hard that maybe it contributed to damaging my heart. Having said that, I probably was unable to approach it differently. That was just the way I was wired - all or nothing."
After her ICD implant, doctors told her that she could not exercise at all, but Carney found that not exercising made her heart worse and that instead it was better to exercise a little every day to keep it under control. She now finds that she can do "quite a lot" of training, provided she avoids damaging high-intensity spurts. For example, she completed an iroman
-length (180 km) bike ride, and hopes eventually to complete a full Ironman. Occasionally she exercises too hard, causing her ICD to "shock" her heart, as happened once when she was out running with her father. It also happened in 2008 when she was taking part in the 299 km Melbourne
-to-Warrnambool bike race, when she forgot about her condition and attempted to chase down the leading pack.
Carney has had a strained relationship with her sport's governing body, Triathlon Australia (TA), partly because of their reluctance to allow her to compete, with her well-known heart condition, in their races. She has called on TA to require annual ECG and ultrasound
tests of their elite athletes.
Source: http://www.triathlon.org/athletes/profile/emma_carney/
ITU Triathlon World Championships
The ITU Triathlon World Championships have been held annually since 1989, the same year as the formation of the International Triathlon Union – the world governing body of triathlon...
. She is one of the few triathletes in the world to have won two ITU
International Triathlon Union
The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...
world titles. She was the world number one triathlete according to ITU rankings in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and achieved 19 World Cup wins, more than any other triathlete except Vanessa Fernandes
Vanessa Fernandes
Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes is a Portuguese athlete from Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia and a former triathlon European and World champion...
. With seven wins in 1996, she also holds the record for the greatest number of ITU World Series wins in a single season.
Early life
Carney was born in England, but moved with her family to Australia at an early age.Carney began her sporting life as a runner: when she was in grade four, she was the only girl to win a medal in the school cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
mixed race. As a teenager Carney remembers jogging after school everyday. "From that time on there has hardly been a day when I haven't trained", she said. At 13 she set a Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
record in her 3,000 m debut, and at 18 she was winning national school titles. She wanted to go to the Olympics, but realised she wasn't going to hit her peak as a middle-distance athlete until her late 20s. She reached the finals in the under-20 national championships in the 1,500 m
1500 metres
The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
and 3,000 m
3000 metres
The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
. As she thought running for another 10 years would be "boring", she decided instead to do some cross-training and triathlons.
Triathlon
In the spring of 1993, Carney tried her first triathlon, which she won after overcoming a 7-minute deficit from a 700 metre swim. Her accountant father, David, told her, "It’s 18 months until the world championship in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. If you learn to swim and train, you’ll be the best triathlete in the world." She recalled, "My father went over everything I had to do point by point and it all made sense."
ITU domination
In November 1994, she fulfilled her father's prediction, winning the ITU World title—her first international triathlon—by a record margin of 2 minutes 12 seconds. From June 1995 to April 1997, Carney recorded an unbroken string of 12 straight ITU World Cup wins. After a narrow loss to Michellie JonesMichellie Jones
Michellie Yvonne Jones is an Australian triathlete. She has won two ITU Triathlon World Championships, an Olympic Silver Medal, and the 2006 Ironman World Championship.-Athletic career:...
at the 1997 Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
World Cup, she recorded another four straight World Cup victories, before adding another ITU World Champion title in November. Viral infections meant that she failed to win the 1995 and 1996 World Championships, but still managed to finish second in 1996.
Her fellow 1997 World Champion, Chris McCormack said, "Emma is hard!", referring to her shockingly long training at fearlessly high intensity, and her ruthless ferocity in competition.
Decline
After winning the IshigakiIshigaki
*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...
World Cup race in April 1998, Carney never again won a World Cup or World Championship race. In July she could only manage 15th in the World Cup race at Gamagori, then failed to finish at the Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
World Championships in August, but partly recovered to finish fourth in the November Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
World Cup race. Following a metatarsal injury in 1999 which prevented her running for eight weeks, she finished 3rd in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
World Championships. In 2000 she failed to qualify for the Australian Olympic women's triathlon team, despite an appeal to the CAS
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
.
She described this period as a "shitty time", when she could not work out what was wrong. She said, "my reaction to racing badly was to train harder—which was the worst thing I could do for my heart." Despite her problems, she managed to win some races, including the 1998 Australian National Championship, the 1999 Australian Long Course Championship and the 2000 Australian long course and sprint national championships.
Retirement from professional triathlon
Carney was forced to retire from professional triathlon in 2004 after suffering a cardiac arrestCardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
in Canada. She was later diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia is a tachycardia, or fast heart rhythm, that originates in one of the ventricles of the heart...
, a life-threatening condition that causes the heart to beat too fast and out of control, usually during high-intensity anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercise is exercise intense enough to trigger anaerobic metabolism. It is used by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power and by body builders to build muscle mass...
. The doctors found it difficult to diagnose her condition, partly because Carney's resting heart rate when asleep was only 21 bpm. In October 2004 surgeons implanted an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
Defibrillation
Defibrillation is a common treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation consists of delivering a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the affected heart with a device called a defibrillator...
(ICD) in the right ventricle
Right ventricle
The right ventricle is one of four chambers in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium via the tricuspid valve, and pumps it into the pulmonary artery via the pulmonary valve and pulmonary trunk....
of her heart.
She later speculated, "I always raced so hard that maybe it contributed to damaging my heart. Having said that, I probably was unable to approach it differently. That was just the way I was wired - all or nothing."
Later life
In 2006, Carney's elder sister Jane died of cancer. She had thought that her heart problems were "really hard", but describes her sister's death as "a well of anguish that surpasses anything I’d ever seen or felt in life."After her ICD implant, doctors told her that she could not exercise at all, but Carney found that not exercising made her heart worse and that instead it was better to exercise a little every day to keep it under control. She now finds that she can do "quite a lot" of training, provided she avoids damaging high-intensity spurts. For example, she completed an iroman
Ironman Triathlon
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...
-length (180 km) bike ride, and hopes eventually to complete a full Ironman. Occasionally she exercises too hard, causing her ICD to "shock" her heart, as happened once when she was out running with her father. It also happened in 2008 when she was taking part in the 299 km Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-to-Warrnambool bike race, when she forgot about her condition and attempted to chase down the leading pack.
Carney has had a strained relationship with her sport's governing body, Triathlon Australia (TA), partly because of their reluctance to allow her to compete, with her well-known heart condition, in their races. She has called on TA to require annual ECG and ultrasound
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
tests of their elite athletes.
Results
- Note: only top-ten finishes are shown in the table below.
Date Position Event Venue Swim
timeT1 bike
timeT2 run
timeTotal
time7 ITU Triathlon World Cup Hamburg Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...20:00 1:00:43 35:23 1:56:07 9 ITU Triathlon World Cup Corner Brook 21:07 1:12:20 36:35 2:10:02 6 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 21:34 1:01:29 36:24 1:59:29 9 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 20:12 1:03:47 36:06 2:00:05 7 ITU Triathlon World Cup Toronto TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...20:15 1:02:09 35:24 1:59:05 7 ITU Triathlon World Championships Perth Perth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....20:11 0:48 1:07:44 0:39 26:31 1:55:55 2 ITU Triathlon World Cup Noosa 20:47 0:59:47 35:14 1:55:49 3 ITU Triathlon World Championships Montreal MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...20:00 0:37 0:59:04 0:32 36:08 1:56:19 4 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki Ishigaki*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...18:32 1:03:13 39:02 2:00:48 4 ITU Triathlon World Cup Auckland AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...2:01:26 8 ITU Triathlon World Cup Corner Brook 20:07 1:15:02 36:16 2:11:26 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki Ishigaki*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...19:41 1:07:01 36:42 2:03:24 1 ITU Triathlon World Championships Perth Perth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....20:57 0:58 1:03:31 1:02 34:40 1:59:22 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Sydney SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...20:19 0:35 1:23:37 0:32 35:47 2:00:32 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Hamilton Hamilton, BermudaHamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...20:55 1:06:09 36:50 2:03:54 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Tiszaujvaros TiszaújvárosTiszaújváros is an industrial town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, south-east of Miskolc, near the river Tisza.Tiszaújváros owes its existence to the industrialization wave that took over the then-socialist Hungary after World War II...22:15 1:03:44 34:22 2:00:22 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 21:25 1:04:30 37:48 2:03:44 2 ITU Triathlon World Cup Monte Carlo Monte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....2:09:47 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Auckland AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...22:39 1:04:26 35:09 2:02:15 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki Ishigaki*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...20:28 1:05:25 36:12 2:02:05 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Sydney SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...1:58:15 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Auckland AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...2:03:19 2 ITU Triathlon World Championships Cleveland 21:51 0:27 0:54:04 0:36 34:39 1:51:43 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Hamilton Hamilton, BermudaHamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...1:49:34 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Drummondville 22:46 1:00:59 34:08 1:57:55 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Paris ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...1:06:23 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 1:57:54 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki Ishigaki*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...21:26 1:04:43 34:50 2:01:00 7 ITU Triathlon World Championships Cancun CancúnCancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...25:12 2:11 0:59:49 0:48 38:07 2:07:05 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Drummondville 1:53:12 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup San Sebastián San SebastiánDonostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...2:02:37 1 ITU Triathlon World Cup Derry DerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...2:01:21 1 ITU Triathlon World Championship Wellington WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...20:17 1:07:04 35:44 2:03:18
Source: http://www.triathlon.org/athletes/profile/emma_carney/