Nina Derron

Nina Derron is already something of a triathlon veteran, having first becoming involved at the tender age of 5.

Eventually Nina joined a triathlon club and claimed a string of domestic honours, including becoming Swiss Junior Triathlon and Duathlon Champion.

She turned professional in 2016 and has steadily improved since, claiming her first IRONMAN 70.3 victory in Geelong in 2018 having notched a number of top-five finishes prior to that.

Nina came agonisingly close to adding to that Geelong success as she finished second at IRONMAN 70.3 Nice in 2018 and then at IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella and IRONMAN Vitoria- Gasteiz in 2019.

Derron also performed creditably at the highest of levels in 2019 as she finished 19th in the 70.3 World Championship in Nice, before taking 27th at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.

Nina’s baptism in triathlon all those years ago came alongside her sisters Michelle and Julie, who are themselves aiming for Olympic glory over shorter distances. And she admits that to this day they are her biggest rivals!

Derron’s rise to the upper levels of triathlon competition has not come without its trials, and she says she is most proud of overcoming a back injury in her early twenties to make it back into elite competition. She is also somehow managing to combine a PhD and professional sport.

Nina says she is scared of nothing and expects pain at some point in every race.

“However, it was very painful having to quit my race at Alpe d’Huez in 2019 after I crashed on a downhill, my only DNF ever.” Despite that, Alpe d’Huez remains her favourite race.

Away from triathlon, Derron admits she can’t live without chocolate, and says her quirk is that she rubs her belly when she wakes up.

Not surprisingly Nina has other sporting loves outside of triathlon, and enjoys mountain biking, hiking and diving.

Training is mainly done with Michelle and Julie, while she also takes in training camps with other members of the Trisutto squad.