Nicola Spirig Hug
Nicola Spirig at the Sprint World Championships in Lausanne, 2011
Personal information
NicknameNic[1]
Born (1982-02-07) 7 February 1982 (age 42)
Winkel, Switzerland[1]
Alma materUniversity of Zurich[1]
SpouseReto Hug[1]
Sport
SportTriathlon, long-distance running
Coached byBrett Sutton (2006- )[1]
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Women's triathlon
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Individual
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual
ITU Team Triathlon World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2011 Lausanne Team
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Baku Individual
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Holten Individual
Gold medal – first place 2010 Atholne Individual
Gold medal – first place 2012 Eilat Individual
Gold medal – first place 2014 Kitzbuehel Individual
Gold medal – first place 2015 Genf Individual
Gold medal – first place 2018 Glasgow Individual
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Kopenhagen Individual
Updated on 9 August 2018.

Nicola Spirig Hug (born 7 February 1982) is a Swiss lawyer and former professional triathlete. She is the 2012 Olympic and six times European champion in women's triathlon.

Career

Nicola Spirig is a five times Olympian. She was Olympic champion in 2012 and runner up in 2016. She was World Championship runner up in 2010, Junior World Champion in 2001, Junior European Champion in 1999, and Elite European Champion in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. She was the second oldest competitor in the field when she won the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow.[2]

Spirig was born in Winkel.[1] On 4 August 2012, Spirig won Gold in the Olympic Women's Triathlon,[3] winning a close race in a photo finish with Sweden's Lisa Nordén.

In the 13 years from 1998 to 2010, Spirig took part in 72 ITU competitions and achieved 39 top ten positions. In 2010, she won the European Championships and the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, and the silver medal at the World Championship Series triathlon in London. In the overall World Championship Series ranking she place second.

Spirig has also competed as a long-distance runner, finishing second at the Swiss Cross-Country Championships in 2014 and competing at the 2014 Zurich Marathon.[4] She subsequently competed in the marathon at the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zurich, where she finished 24th in a time of 2:37.12.[5] More recently she finished second in the 10,000 metres at the Swiss National Athletics Championships in 2021. In 2015, she and heptathlete Linda Züblin competed at the St. Moritz track in a round of the Bobsleigh World Cup, racing at the invitation of Swiss pilot Beat Hefti alongside him and brakeman Alex Baumann in the four man event, with the quartet placing 27th.[1]

In 2021, she competed in the women's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She also competed in the mixed relay event.[6]

Personal life

Nicola Spirig lives in Bachenbülach[7] and holds a degree in law (lic.iur.). Both her elder sister and her elder brother were high-performance athletes before they started their academic careers. Their parents are teachers of physical education. Spirig is married to former Swiss triathlete Reto Hug. They have a son, born 2013[8] and a daughter, born 2017.[9] When 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig had her first child, she was not sure whether she would ever return to triathlon. But just 12 weeks after her third child was born in April 2019, the 37-year-old was back competing in the World Triathlon Series Grand Final held in Lausanne, Switzerland between 30 August 2019 to 1 September 2019.[10]

ITU competitions

The following lists are based upon the official ITU rankings and the athlete's Profile Page.[11] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons and belong to the Elite category.

Olympics

Date Competition Place Rank
  2004-08-25   Summer Olympics Athens, Greece 19
  2008-08-18   Summer Olympics Beijing, China 6
  2012-08-04   Summer Olympics London, United Kingdom 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2016-08-20   Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2021-07-26 Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan 6

World Championships

Nicola Spirig and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010.
Nicola Spirig at the World Championship Series triathlon in Kitzbuhel, 2010.
Date Competition Place Rank
  2012-06-23   World Triathlon Kitzbuehel, Austria 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2012-05-26   World Triathlon Madrid, Spain 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2012-04-14   Dextro Energy World Championships Series Sydney, Australia 5
  2011-08-21   Team World Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2011-08-20   Dextro Energy World Championship Series: Sprint World Championship Lausanne, Switzerland 16
  2011-08-06   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United Kingdom 8
  2011-07-16   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Hamburg, Germany 12
  2010-09-08   Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final Budapest, Hungary 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  2010-08-21   World Championships (Sprint) Lausanne, Switzerland 6
  2010-08-14   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbuhel, Austria 18
  2010-07-24   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United Kingdom 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2010-06-05   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Madrid, Spain 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2010-05-08   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Seoul, South Korea 4
  2009-08-22   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Yokohama, Japan 10
  2009-08-15   Dextro Energy World Championship Series London, United Kingdom 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2009-07-11   Dextro Energy World Championship Series Kitzbuhel, Austria 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2007-08-30   BG World Championships Hamburg, Germany 19
  2005-09-10   World Championships (U23) Gamagori, Japan 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  2004-05-09   World Championships Madeira DNF
  2003-12-06   World Championships Queenstown, New Zealand 33
  2002-11-09   World Championships (U23) Cancun, Mexico 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

World Cups

Gold medalist Spirig with Emmie Charayron and Helen Jenkins at the World Championship Series triathlon in Madrid, 2010.
Date Competition Place Rank
  2012-03-25   World Cup Mooloolaba, Australia 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2010-10-10   World Cup Huatulco, Mexico 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2008-09-27   BG World Cup Lorient, France 8
  2008-07-20   BG World Cup Kitzbuhel, Austria 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2008-04-26   BG World Cup Tongyeong, South Korea 8
  2008-04-13   BG World Cup Ishigaki, Japan 6
  2007-12-01   BG World Cup Eilat, Israel 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2007-10-07   BG World Cup Rhodes, Greece 6
  2007-09-15   BG World Cup Beijing, China 7
  2007-07-29   BG World Cup Salford, United Kingdom 10
  2007-07-22   BG World Cup Kitzbuhel, Austria 6
  2007-05-13   BG World Cup Richards Bay, South Africa 5
  2007-05-06   BG World Cup Lisbon, Portugal 8
  2007-04-15   BG World Cup Ishigaki, Japan 6
  2007-03-25   BG World Cup Mooloolaba, Australia 17
  2006-11-12   BG World Cup New Plymouth, New Zealand 12
  2006-11-05   BG World Cup Cancun, Mexico 17
  2006-07-23   BG World Cup Corner Brook, Canada DNS
  2006-06-11   BG World Cup Richards Bay, South Africa 8
  2006-06-04   BG World Cup Madrid, Spain 17
  2005-09-17   OSIM World Cup Beijing, China 32
  2005-08-06   World Cup Hamburg, Germany DNF
  2005-07-31   World Cup Salford, United Kingdom 12
  2005-06-05   World Cup Madrid, Spain 11
  2004-07-25   World Cup Salford, United Kingdom 13
  2004-04-25   World Cup Mazatlan, Mexico 11
  2004-04-11   World Cup Ishigaki, Japan 14
  2003-10-25   World Cup Athens, Greece 24
  2003-10-19   World Cup Madeira 17
  2003-09-21   World Cup Madrid, Spain DNF
  2003-09-06   World Cup Hamburg, Germany 15
  2003-07-20   World Cup Corner Brook, Canada 11
  2003-07-13   World Cup Edmonton, Canada 19
  2003-06-07   World Cup Tongyeong, South Korea 26
  2002-10-13   World Cup Madeira 20
  2002-09-21   World Cup Nice, France 21
  2002-08-31   World Cup Lausanne, Switzerland 15
  2002-07-21   World Cup Corner Brook, Canada 9
  2001-08-25   World Cup Lausanne, Switzerland 9

European Championships

Date Competition Place Rank
  2018-08-09   European Championships Glasgow, Scotland 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2014-06-20   European Championships kitzbuehel, Austria 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2012-04-20   European Championships Eilat, Israel 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2010-07-03   European Championships Athlone, Ireland 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2009-07-02   European Championships Holten, Netherlands 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2008-05-10   European Championships Lisbon, Portugal 4
  2007-06-29   European Championships Copenhagen, Denmark 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  2006-06-23   European Championships Autun, France 13
  2005-08-20   European Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 12
  2005-07-17   European Championships (U23) Sofia, Bulgaria 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2004-04-18   European Championships Valencia, Spain 14
  2003-06-21   European Championships Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic 12
  2002-07-06   European Championships Győr, Hungary 14

European Games

Date Competition Place Rank
  2015-06-13   1st European Games Baku, Azerbaijan 1st place, gold medalist(s)

European Cups

Date Competition Place Rank
  2007-08-19   European Cup Geneva, Switzerland 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2002-06-08   European Cup Belgrade, Serbia 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

Junior results

Date Competition Place Rank
  2001-07-22   World Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  2001-06-23   European Championships Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  2000-07-08   European Championships Stein, Netherlands 5
  2000-04-30   World Championships Perth, Australia 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  1999-07-03   European Championships Funchal, Madeira 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  1998-08-30   World Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 5
  1998-07-04   European Championships Velden, Austria 18

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "SPIRIG Nicola". olympics.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Start List: Elite Women • 2018 Glasgow ETU Triathlon European Championships".
  3. ^ "Nicola Spirig". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Spirig can set the tone on a marathon day in Europe". European Athletics Association. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. ^ Henderson, Jason (16 August 2014). "Euro marathon gold for Christelle Daunay". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Mixed Relay Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  7. ^ zuonline.ch)
  8. ^ Jörg Greb: Der «schnelle» Sohn der Triathlon-Olympiasiegerin. In: Tages-Anzeiger vom 24. März 2013
  9. ^ Nicola Spirig bringt ein Mädchen zur Welt (11. Juli 2017)
  10. ^ "World Triathlon Series: Nicola Spirig on racing 12 weeks after having third child". 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Results for: Spirig, Nicola (SUI)". International Triathlon Union. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicola Spirig.
Awards and achievements Preceded bySarah Meier Swiss Sportswoman of the Year 2012 Succeeded byGiulia Steingruber
Olympic champions in women's triathlon
European Champions in women's ETU Triathlon
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