Annabelle Elliott

Annabelle Elliott is one of L’Hippopotame Athlétique’s ambassadors who truly embodies the spirit of Your Hidden Performance.

To Annabelle, Hidden Performance is the untapped potential that exists within all of us. She doesn’t believe that becoming an athlete is reserved for those born with exceptional talent. Instead, she believes many people underestimate what they are capable of simply because they have never pushed themselves far enough to find out.

Anna believes that everyone has hidden potential, and the only way to discover it is by challenging yourself. By pursuing difficult goals and continuing forward with consistency and determination, we uncover abilities we never knew we had.

For her, Hidden Performance is the journey of having the courage to push beyond your perceived limits and discover the potential that lies beyond them.

Could you introduce yourself a little? Who is Anna outside of triathlon, and how did your journey into the sport begin? 

Hi, I’m Annabelle. I’ve been involved in the triathlon world for about four years now. Outside of triathlon, I graduated from university with distinction and earned a degree in accounting. I love being active and spending time outdoors, whether that's hiking, swimming, playing tennis or hockey, or traveling and exploring new places.

My triathlon journey began during my second year of university. At the time, I wanted to become more active and challenge myself to do something that felt intimidating, so I set a goal of completing a sprint triathlon. Balancing training with school, work, and a social life wasn’t always easy, but triathlon became an important outlet for me. It was time dedicated to myself and a chance to focus on my own growth. What started as a personal challenge quickly turned into a passion and has been a big part of my life ever since.

What do you think is the biggest appeal of triathlon?

What originally attracted me to the sport was that you don’t have to be really good at just one discipline to do well. You can be fairly average across swimming, cycling, and running, and still be a strong overall athlete.

I also love the variety that triathlon offers. Every training day is different, which keeps things interesting and prevents me from getting bored. I enjoy improving in all three sports, and one of the things I find most rewarding is seeing how small improvements across each discipline can add up to big results on race day.


Every athlete has a different reason for continuing through difficult training and racing moments. What keeps you motivated?

I don't have a big life-changing story that brought me into triathlon. I got into the sport during university when I was surrounded by friends who were active and always challenging themselves. I wanted to challenge myself too, and completing a triathlon seemed like a great way to step outside my comfort zone. What keeps me motivated now is seeing the results of consistent hard work. I enjoy setting goals, tracking my progress, and seeing my times improve over time.

That being said, I don't think motivation is what gets me through training for half and full Ironmans. Motivation comes and goes. What I rely on more is routine and consistency. There are definitely days when I don't feel like training, but I've learned that showing up on those days is often what makes the biggest difference. The small efforts add up, and that's what ultimately leads to progress.


You recently completed a race — could you tell us a little about the preparation process leading up to it? What did your training and mindset look like in the weeks before race day?

I recently completed a 70.3 Ironman, which was actually part of my build toward a full Ironman. My full training block is 30 weeks long, and the 70.3 was scheduled during week 19, so I had about 19 weeks of preparation leading into the race.The training itself was consistent, but it wasn't without challenges. I got sick during the build and dealt with some personal struggles outside of training, which definitely tested my mindset at times. In the weeks leading up to race day, I was honestly pretty nervous and found myself questioning whether I had done enough. Looking back, I think that's a common feeling during a taper. You go from training so much to suddenly doing less, and it can make you doubt your fitness. What helped was reminding myself that I had put in the work, stayed consistent, and done the best I could despite the setbacks. My mindset shifted from focusing on what hadn't gone perfectly to trusting the training I had completed and being excited to see what I could do on race day.

How do you usually feel mentally and emotionally right before a race begins? 

The week leading up to a race, I'm usually pretty calm. Mentally, I feel prepared, and emotionally I often reflect on how amazing it is that so many people choose to challenge themselves through this sport. Sometimes that can even make me a little emotional. Race morning is a different story. That's when the nerves really hit, and I can feel so nervous I could throw up. But the moment my toe hits the water and the clock starts, all of those nerves disappear. At that point, it's time to trust my training and enjoy the race.


During difficult moments in a race, what do you tell yourself to keep moving forward?

Every race I've done has had difficult moments, and there have definitely been times when I've wanted to stop. But so far, I've never given in to that feeling. One of the first things I think about is the people who came to support me. Whether it's family, friends, or teammates, I know they've taken time out of their day to be there and cheer me on. They don't care whether I finish in five hours or seven hours, they're proud of me simply for showing up and giving it my best. Thinking about their support reminds me that I'm capable of more than I think in that moment and gives me an extra push to keep going.

I also remind myself that I chose to be there. Racing is something I get to do, not something I have to do. If I'm really struggling, I take a step back, focus on mybreathing, bring my heart rate down, and remember to enjoy the experience. Usually, once I reset, I can keep moving forward. 


After crossing the finish line, what emotions stayed with you the most, and what did this race teach you about yourself?

To be honest, immediately after crossing the finish line, I was so overheated and exhausted that I didn't feel much excitement. If anything, I was in a more negative headspace than I probably should have been after completing a 70.3. I just wanted to cool down and leave. 

A few hours later, once I had recovered and had time to reflect, my perspective changed. While I didn't achieve the main goal I had set for myself, I realized that I had still set a personal best for the distance by 37 minutes, which is something I'm incredibly proud of.

This race reminded me that it's important to look at the bigger picture. It's easy to focus on the one goal you didn't achieve, but sometimes the progress you've made is right in front of you. It taught me to appreciate how far I've come and to recognize that success isn't always defined by a single result.