Luke Pollard

Paris 2024 was Luke’s second Paralympic Games as Dave Ellis’ guide in Para triathlon. Tokyo 2020 ended in heartbreak as the pair had a broken bike chain and were unable to finish the race, but the duo bounced back in style in Paris crossing the finish line in first place and taking home the gold in the men’s PTVI event.

Luke first discovered triathlon when he was 20, after he completed basic training in the Royal Air Force and arrived at his first posting. Luke felt that he was in some ways a latecomer to the sport in comparison to some of his counterparts and therefore put his best efforts into improving himself. He credits a number of people with aiding him in developing his understanding of the sport as he quickly rose from novice to elite athlete.

Luke joined the RAF in 2011, working in logistics and is currently on the elite athlete scheme that allows him to train and race triathlon full-time, away from his primary role. After becoming Dave Ellis’ guide and winning their first race together to take the British duathlon title in April 2019, the pair ended the year on a high, taking the gold medal at the 2019 Funchal ITU Paratriathlon World Cup.

The pair have still been competing together ever since taking World, European and Commonwealth titles with their most recent success coming at the 2023 World Championships in Pontevedra.