PENNY SLATER
1st AUSSIE HOME, 7th IN THE WORLD
at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France
and proudly sponsored by FOHER Co
'Evolving with FOHER Co as an athlete and as they've grown as a business has been something special. I don't think that when we first started working together that either of us thought I'd be lining up at an IM world champs as one of the youngest female pros a few years later. Times be crazy 😝 !!' Penny Slater, 2022
After her debut IRONMAN World Champs in Kailua-Kona in 2022, Pen came home in 24th place vowing 'Kona you are a ferocious beautiful beast and I will do better next time I see you 👊'. And so she did. Last year, when Penny full sent it all the way home to 13th place with 'finally a world class performance', we were all pretty damn stoked. Since our partnership began back in 2018, when Penny was shredding trails, we've been behind this gal. Like literally, she destroys kits and chamois like you wouldn't believe. But that's because she goes hard. And we know she's going to go all the way. 7th in the world, and moving on up.
We asked Pen to prepare a short recap of her race for our FOHER Fam, who we know were up as late (or as early!) as we were, tracking her, feeling all the feels, maybe even yelling at the tracker when it looked like Lotte might pass her back on the run (well maybe that was just us 🙈). Enjoy!
'After a bit of a nervous spew and a very rushed transition setup race morning the start of the biggest race of the year felt like a bit of a whirlwind!
The swim was good and uneventful for me, apart from the dunking at the start. The bike was beautiful and tough with 2400m of elevation gain, I was able to ride very close to exactly how I planned and was picking girls off throughout the ride. And despite it being really tough I just found myself enjoying the whole experience and uniqueness of the course. Onto the run and I knew I'd got myself into the top 10, I felt okay but not great. I quickly ran up to 7th but really started to struggle at 26km in with some vomiting and very tired legs. Thankfully coke seemed to revitalise me and I was able to hold onto 7th.
In celebration I got to spend the next two hours in drug testing trying to wee!
Pic: Penny hammers home to a career best 7th in the world
Credits: Sylvain Riouall Photosport
Thank you so much to the whole FOHER family for the support in all my races but especially this one. I appreciate all the messages so much. And thank you to Kylie at FOHER Co who designed another amazing kit and continues to strive to make me the fastest and best looking suit in the business!' Pen
Well Pen, when we first met back in 2018, you said 'I love triathlon and I also love women in sport! Its so cool that FOHER encourages women of all abilities to get out there and have a go which is what I've always tried to do since day dot, is to give everything my best shot and have a stellar time while doing it.' When we look at how far you've come and what you've achieved, all while sticking to those early words, then think about how much more there is yet to achieve...we couldn't be prouder and more stoked at having been a part of your journey thus far.
It’s an honour to create the kit that empowers you as you smash your sporting goals, and we’re thrilled to be part of your journey every stroke, pedal and step of the way 💪.
x Kylie and the FOHER Team
2 comments
Wow! Incredible achievement! So inspiring!! Huge congratulations to Penny for a wonderful achievement 💗
Fantastic pics of an amazing athlete in high performance mode, in high performance kit.