An Olympian

In her athletic career, Loretta Harrop has endured both frustration and heartache. For the Sydney Games, she was elected to the team but had to spend time, money and energy to defend her place when two other athletes challenged it. But that was minor compared to 2002, when a hit-and-run driver killed her 24-year-old brother Luke, a former triathlete.

In Sydney, Loretta finished 5th at the inaugural Olympic triathlon competition. She hoped, relaying on her strength as a swimmer, to come out of the water first but instead, she was at the head of the first chase pack. Loretta had the 14th-fastest bike time and made up little ground in the run, fading towards the end. Loretta felt that the training time she had missed while injured plus the mental strain from the court process worked against her. She only knew about two weeks before the Olympic Games that she will compete.

Unlike in 2000, Loretta was the first triathlete named to the Australian women's team for Athens.

Started as a swimmer

Loretta showed that strong swimmers not just strong runners can win triathlons. She started swimming because of asthma that she had as a child. As a teenager, Loretta trained with future Olympic 200m butterfly gold medalist Susie O'Neill. After she had failed to make the 1994 Commonwealth Games in the 100m butterfly, her brother Luke introduced her to triathlons. Luke was killed in January 2002 when he and training partner Craig O'Connell were struck by a car while on a training ride in the Gold Coast, Australia. O'Connell survived, suffering two broken vertebrae.

Was not allowed to ride a bike as a kid

Loretta had never rode a bike until one week before her first race in 1994. The Harrop children were not allowed to have bicycles because their father, Russell, watched as his best friend was struck and killed by a car while riding a bike.

After high school, Loretta worked as swim instructor, teaching children to swim at an aquatic school in Brisbane.

Committed to training

Loretta is known as a hard working committed athlete. She spends the summer months training from December through May in Australia and then trains in Switzerland during Europe's summer. She trains with Brett Sutton who is considered one of the best triathlon coaches in the world. All triathletes are hard workers, but Loretta is especially known for her training. Even on Christmas Day in 1999, Loretta went out for a 40-mile bike ride and 7.5 mile run.