Two Years Ago She Was Too Depressed to Get Out of Bed. Fourth in Lanzarote Means She’s Heading to Kona

Trigger warning: This article mentions depression and suicide. 

In the depths of Ironman Lanzarote, Julia Skala ran herself into Kona qualification to finish fourth, posting a marathon only three-seconds slower than Lucy Charles-Barclay. But, unlike most professional triathletes, her immediate reaction was to turn the slot down. 

“I didn’t have this thought of a Kona slot in my mind when I overtook Rosie [Wild],” Skala says. “When I overtook Rosie, her first word was ‘that’s your Kona slot,’ but then I thought, ‘no I don’t want to go to Kona.’”

In her fourth year as a professional, Skala has slowly climbed the ranks, racing both middle and full distance. In 2024 she had her maiden professional victory at Challenge Gdansk and her debut at the IRONMAN World Championship (Nice), where she finished 20th. While she had dabbled in triathlon for fun, it was when she met Michael, her now-husband and coach, that she ventured into the pro ranks. A pro himself at the time, Skala saw what it took to be a professional–from the training to the bike components. After finishing second overall at 70.3 Warsaw in 2021 – even though she was an age grouper – she took her license. 

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