KLAMER Rachel

General
MOTHER
Her mother passed away in July 2020 from a brain tumour. She and her husband had been training in South Africa, but returned to Beuningen, Netherlands, after learning of her mother's illness in January 2020. "I never really had a hero or someone I really looked up to. But I think after I lost my mum last year, that when I struggle I really think of her and what she would have said. That's definitely where I get my strength from. The news [of her illness] was totally unexpected. A week before that, my mother won a running competition. I wanted to go home as soon as possible." She said she struggled to stay motivated for sport while caring for her mother. "My mum wanted me to do everything in order to achieve my goals at the Olympics, but to do so, I had to go to international competitions and training camps. And I wanted to be around her. I had a lot of competitions planned, but because of the pandemic, I didn't have to choose between competing or staying with my family." (transition.nl, 01 Jul 2020; SuperLeague Triathlon YouTube channel, 02 Jun 2021; tubantia.nl, 31 May 2020)

TRIATHLON RELATIONSHIP
Her partner Richard Murray is a professional triathlete from South Africa. The couple, who married in March 2020, train together. "When people wonder how we train together, it is because he goes really slow, which is perfect for me. We sometimes make jokes about it, but at the end of the day he is very consistent. That means we can only do the easy training together, because when it speeds up he goes fast and I cannot keep up with him." (3athlon.nl, 04 Oct 2015; SuperLeague Triathlon YouTube channel, 02 Jun 2021, transition.nl, 01 Jul 2020; 3athlon.nl, 24 Mar 2020)

BORN IN ZIMBABWE
She was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, where her parents worked as doctors. At age three she and her parents moved back to the Netherlands. (rachelklamer.com, 05 Apr 2012)