Gabriella Zelinka

Gabriella Zelinka has been a dominant triathlon force domestically in Hungary for a number of years now, as well as showcasing her talents on the global stage.

Zelinka, who hails from Budapest, has been National Champion three times while also placing third in the long-distance European Championship in 2013. She had been a competitive road cyclist before really putting sole focus on triathlon, figuring prominently at domestic and European level.

Her first major professional victory came over the 70.3 distance at Pays d’Aix in 2015, while other notable performances include podiums in 2018 at Italy Emilia-Romagna (second at full distance) and in 2019 at Barcelona (third over 70.3).

Gabriella, a member of the PPR Team, also produced a personal-best time of 9:02:50 in finishing fifth over the full distance at IRONMAN Barcelona in October 2019 - an event she now describes as her favourite.

The move into triathlon came after Zelinka had tried her hand at a number of different sports including figure skating, swimming and cycling.

Despite trying swimming growing up, Gabriella says it is now very much her least favourite of the triathlon disciplines, while she loves being on the bike.

While she does not have a specific idol or hero, Zelinka says she has always looked up to famous athletes and is constantly driven today by the desire to improve and be better.

When she is not competing professionally around the world in triathlons Gabriella still enjoys skating and skiing, while the one thing she cannot live without is coffee. Her favourite cheat meal is ice cream.

Meanwhile she loves training in the mountains and holidays by “rocky seasides”.

As for the best racing advice she has received, it is “be patient during a long-distance race”.