Stuart Hayes (born 16 April 1979 in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

, London) is an English

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

. Hayes began his sports career as a swimmer at Hounslow Swimming Club but converted to triathlon at the age of 15; Hayes said he became "fed up of swimming up and down all day counting tiles". He is coached by his wife, Michelle Dillon. Hayes missed out on selection for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, but finished the year ranked 3rd in the world. He failed to qualify for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China, after suffering two punctures during the qualification event. In 2010 he won his first

ITU Triathlon World Cup The World Triathlon Cup is an annual series of triathlon races staged around the world. The series is organised by the World Triathlon, the world governing body of the sport. Inaugurated in 1991, the World Cup began as an attempt to create a regula ...

event in

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

, Austria; Hayes was part of a group of five riders who broke away on the cycling leg of the event and won in a time of one hour 52 minutes 32 seconds. At the 2011 ITU Triathlon World Cup event in

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...

, Hayes finished in 46th position in an event won by compatriot

Alistair Brownlee Alistair Edward Brownlee (born 23 April 1988) is an English former triathlete. He is the only athlete to hold two Olympic titles in the individual triathlon event, winning gold medals in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He is also a four-time ...

over the course that will be used for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Hayes was selected to represent

Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes was o ...

in the men's triathlon alongside brothers Alistair and

Jonathan Brownlee Jonathan Callum Brownlee (born 30 April 1990) is an English professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion (once World Triathlon Series, twice World Sprint Triathlon, three-time World Triathlon Mixed Relay), and one- ...

. Hayes, who was ranked 46th in the world at the time of his selection, was chosen ahead of world number 12, Will Clarke, and world number 13, Tim Don, because of his ability to perform a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their cycling team, team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équip ...

role for the Brownlees. The event took place in Hyde Park with the swim being held in the Serpentine. The cycle involved athletes leaving the park via Queen Mother's Gate, travelling through

Wellington Arch The Wellington Arch, also known as the Constitution Arch or (originally) as the Green Park Arch, is a Grade I-listed triumphal arch by Decimus Burton that forms a centrepiece of Hyde Park Corner in central London, at the corner where Hyde ...

, down Constitution Hill and on to

Birdcage Walk Birdcage Walk is a street in the City of Westminster in London. It runs east–west as a continuation of Great George Street, from the crossroads with Horse Guards Road and Storey's Gate, with the Treasury building and the Institution of Me ...

in front of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

before returning to the park to complete the event with a four lap run around the Serpentine. Hayes finished in 37th place, however his job in this race was to help the two Brownlee brothers, a job he succeeded in as Alistair finished in gold medal position and Jonny in bronze. After retiring in 2015, Hayes made a comeback to international triathlon competition in 2023, placing 4th at the 40-44AG World Sprint Triathlon Championships in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Stuart 1979 births Living people English male triathletes Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes for Great Britain 20th-century English sportsmen 21st-century English sportsmen People from Isleworth Athletes from the London Borough of Hounslow Triathletes at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England