Helen Rebecca Jenkins, née Tucker MBE (born 8 March 1984) is a two-time triathlon world champion (2008 & 2011). She represented Team Great Britain at the Olympic Games (2008, 2012 & 2016) and World Championships (since 2009) and Wales at the Commonwealth Games.
Jenkins was the British Junior Champion of the year in 2003, the elite silver medalist of the year in 2005, and the Elite Champion of the year in 2006. Jenkins also participated in several prestigious non ITU events; in 2009, she won the London Triathlon, which she had already attended in the years 2003, 2004, and 2005, placing 7th, 5th, and 5th respectively.
In 2006, she suffered from an Achilles tendon injury, and though after a new start in 2007 the injury again affected her, in 2008 she won the World Championships in Vancouver and placed 21st at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
She again represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing in 5th place.[1]
She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to Triathlon.
The birth of her second child and recovering from back surgery prevented her from competing for four years. Jenkins has now[when?] determined to return to professional racing and competing at the highest level. Jenkins’s first race back was Ironman 70.3 Dubai, where she finished 4th.
Jenkins was raised in Bridgend, Wales. She married her friend and coach Marc Jenkins at Disney World in Orlando on 30 October 2008.[2]
In the nine years from 2002 to 2010, Helen Jenkins took part in 42 ITU competitions and achieved 28 top ten positions, among which 14 medals.
The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the Athlete's Profile Page.[3] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons and belong to the Elite category.
| Date | Competition | Place | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-11-09 | World Championships (Junior) | Cancun | 9 |
| 2003-06-21 | European Championships (Junior) | Carlsbad | 13 |
| 2003-12-06 | World Championships (Junior) | Queenstown | 5 |
| 2004-04-18 | European Championships | Valencia | 22 |
| 2004-05-09 | World Championships (U23) | Madeira | 8 |
| 2005-07-17 | European Championships (U23) | Sofia | 3 |
| 2005-07-31 | World Cup | Salford | 3 |
| 2005-09-10 | World Championships | Gamagori | 32 |
| 2005-09-17 | OSIM World Cup | Beijing | 3 |
| 2006-02-19 | Oceania Cup | Hobart | 10 |
| 2006-03-18 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne | 17 |
| 2006-03-26 | World Cup | Mooloolaba | 16 |
| 2006-04-23 | European Cup | Estoril | 2 |
| 2006-05-07 | World Cup | Mazatlan | 8 |
| 2006-06-04 | BG World Cup | Madrid | 5 |
| 2006-07-08 | European Championships (U23) | Rijeka | 4 |
| 2007-03-25 | BG World Cup | Mooloolaba | 20 |
| 2007-04-15 | BG World Cup | Ishigaki | DNF |
| 2008-01-06 | Premium Pan American Cup | Viña del Mar | 1 |
| 2008-01-13 | Pan American Cup | La Paz | 1 |
| 2008-03-30 | BG World Cup | Mooloolaba | 13 |
| 2008-04-06 | BG World Cup | New Plymouth | 13 |
| 2008-04-13 | BG World Cup | Ishigaki | 13 |
| 2008-05-25 | BG World Cup | Madrid | 2 |
| 2008-06-05 | BG World Championships | Vancouver | 1 |
| 2008-06-22 | World Cup | Hy-Vee | 3 |
| 2008-08-18 | Olympic Games | Beijing | 21 |
| 2009-05-02 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Tongyeong | 14 |
| 2009-05-31 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Madrid | 16 |
| 2009-06-21 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Washington (D.C.) | 5 |
| 2009-06-27 | Elite Cup | Hy-Vee | 10 |
| 2009-07-11 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Kitzbühel | 5 |
| 2009-08-15 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | London | 3 |
| 2009-09-09 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final | Gold Coast | 3 |
| 2010-04-11 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Sydney | 15 |
| 2010-05-08 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Seoul | 9 |
| 2010-06-05 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Madrid | 3 |
| 2010-06-12 | Elite Cup | Hy-Vee | 3 |
| 2010-07-24 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | London | 3 |
| 2010-08-15 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Kitzbühel | 4 |
| 2010-09-08 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final | Budapest | 7 |
| 2010-10-10 | World Cup | Huatulco | 4 |
| 2011-03-05 | Pan American Cup (Sprint) | Clermont | 1 |
| 2011-04-09 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Sydney | 33 |
| 2011-06-04 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Madrid | 2 |
| 2011-06-19 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Kitzbuhel | 2 |
| 2011-08-06 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | London | 1 |
| 2011-06-19 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Sprint World Championships | Lausanne | 4 |
| 2011-09-09 | Dextro Energy World Championship Grand Final | Beijing | 2 |
| 2011-09-19 | Dextro Energy World Championship Series | Yokohama | 6 |
| 2011-09-24 | ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup | Buffalo | 2 |
| 2012-04-14 | ITU World Triathlon Championship Series | Sydney | 2 |
| 2012-05-10 | ITU World Triathlon Series | San Diego | 1 |
| 2012-08-04 | Olympics | London | 5 |
BG = the sponsor British Gas · DNF = did not finish · DNS = did not start
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