Meet Kate Hutchinson
Published: 16/05/2025, by: Alex Courbat
From Commonwealth Games swimmer to HYROX podiums - all while holding down a full-time teaching job - Kate Hutchinson’s journey is anything but ordinary. Now one of Sports Direct’s new training ambassadors, we sat down with her to talk racing, finding her fire again, and why fun still comes first.
Kate Hutchinson’s love of sport started early – and it’s been powering her forward ever since. The same determination that got her through pre-dawn swims as a kid is still going strong today. “The sports journey is massively part of my identity,” she says with a smile. Growing up near Leeds, she first fell in love with ballet, but swimming soon stole the spotlight.
When she was just 11, her parents sat her down for a chat that changed everything. “They came to me and said, ‘We think that you're really good at swimming. If you want to move clubs, you're going to have more opportunities. But you’re going to have to do a morning session a week.’” The thought of 4 a.m. alarms wasn’t exactly appealing – but she didn’t hesitate.
She joined City of Leeds Swimming Club, and things got serious. She might not have been the biggest swimmer on the blocks, but she was one of the hardest working. “Always up there, never the best,” she says – a mindset that kept her pushing. Later, she headed to Loughborough for university, right in the thick of the 2008 – 2012 Olympic cycle. It was there that she hit her peak in the pool. And in 2010, she represented England at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “I made the final in the 200m medley. Didn’t get a medal, but it was really good for me. That was the biggest thing that I did”.
But after missing out on the World Championships and not swimming as well as she would have wanted at the Olympic trails in London, she knew it was time for a change. After years of training nine times a week, she was ready to hit pause. “I was ready for a bit of normal life,” she says. Still, she sometimes wonders what would’ve happened if she’d kept going. “Maybe then I would have lost my connection with sport, whereas stopping when I did, I was able to rekindle love for sport, even though it wasn't swimming.”
With that part of her life behind her, Kate moved to Edinburgh and then to Australia. That’s where she stumbled across CrossFit in 2015. It wasn’t a perfect match for her swimmer’s build, but she thrived on the challenge and the competitive edge – until COVID hit and everything changed.
During lockdown, she started running and cycling more. And by 2021, she was racing in her first triathlon – and yes, she smashed it. She qualified for the World Championships in her age group right out of the gate and later took home a bronze. But even with those results, something didn’t quite sit right. “Triathlon takes a lot of discipline, but I think there's a monotony that I'd had enough of through swimming,” she explains. What she really missed was the sense of community. CrossFit had plenty of that, and she felt the absence even more during a tough year that included both her wedding and her father’s motor neurone disease diagnosis. “I needed something where I could see my friends every day, where I could have fun. Because triathlon wasn’t quite that fun.”
And then she remembered HYROX. She did her first race all the way back in 2021, signing up on a whim, still thinking of herself as a triathlete. She showed up to compete without any specific training. She ended up winning her age group and finishing fifth overall. “I just turned up and did it without any training,” she laughs. “Looking back, if I'd stayed in it, I'd probably be in a better position now.” From there, it all just snowballed. “I don’t even think I made a conscious decision,” she says. “I just sort of entered another one, having gone back to the gym for a little while.” This time, it was a doubles race with her husband – and they had a blast. “We did it together, had loads of fun, entered another one, did a bit better, entered another one,” she recalls.
Training alongside him pulled her in even deeper. “He had been quite responsible for me getting more invested in it because obviously, I was racing together with him. He trains it as well. So, we kind of just, as a collective, just started getting really into it.” There was never a master plan or strict goal. “It’s just kind of been, ‘I’m going to enter this race because it looks fun and I’d like to do it with my friend or my partner or whoever, and let’s just try and be a bit better than we were before.’ And that’s it really. That’s where I am now.”
But balancing training with her full-time job as a high school teacher isn’t always easy. She squeezes in short sessions in the morning, with longer workouts after school finishes. “There's definitely peaks and troughs,” she admits. During exam season, things can slow down. But when school’s out, she trains “like an elite athlete.”
Her mindset is refreshingly down to earth – especially for anyone trying to juggle work, life and sport. “I think the way I cope is just being kind to myself. For a teacher, I'm doing really well because there’s probably not that many people who aren't in the sports industry who are my competitors.”
When it comes to advice for newcomers, her message is clear: find the fun. “If you're not enjoying it, what's the point? There are lots of opportunities to use sport as a social. Prioritise enjoyment and that will make you consistent.”
She’s also quick to warn against comparing yourself to seasoned athletes. “It's pointless trying to copy what somebody is doing when they've been doing it for a long time. Doing a session that's, that's going to make you go, is probably better than trying to force yourself through something horrific to try and copy what the elite athletes are doing.”
“If you're not enjoying it, what's the point? There are lots of opportunities to use sport as a social. Prioritise enjoyment and that will make you consistent.”
Before a race, Kate leans on her experience to stay calm and focused. “I remind myself that I've done the hard work, and this is just the moment to celebrate.” And when doubts creep in? She keeps it in perspective. “What will happen if I don't do well? Literally nothing.” And during the race, she focuses on the process – not the outcome. She’s especially strong on the SkiErg sections of HYROX. “My Erg stuff is pretty good. I'm always up there on the ski and row, probably through CrossFit.”
Right now, she’s preparing for the World Championships in Chicago, racing with a childhood friend. She’s also got a few big running goals in sight – like clocking a sub-1:30 half marathon in September. And, of course, she’s already thinking about the next big thing. “Then we'll do a sub-three-hour marathon next year.” So, yes, you guessed it. For Kate Hutchinson, the finish line never means the end – just the start of something new.
?fmt=auto&upscale=false&w=376&h=376&sm=c&$h-ttl$)
