When Canadian triathlete Desirae Ridenour collapsed during the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, it seemed her Olympic aspirations were slipping away with each step she couldn't take. Years of relentless injuries, the lingering effects of long COVID, and training setbacks had systematically dismantled what was once one of Canada's most promising athletic careers.

Yet, sometimes the most extraordinary comebacks require the boldest changes. For Ridenour, this meant leaving everything familiar behind and traveling 8,000 miles to the other side of the world. A small town in New Zealand would become the launching pad for her remarkable athletic resurrection.

In elite sports, the line between glory and obscurity often hinges on how athletes handle their lowest moments. With mental health awareness on the rise and post-pandemic recovery stories resonating globally, comeback narratives have never been more relevant. Ridenour's journey from high school champion to World Cup winner offers insights into how elite athletes rebuild their careers after devastating setbacks—lessons that extend far beyond the world of sport.

When Everything Falls Apart: The Perfect Storm of Athletic Failure

Elite athletic careers can unravel with stunning speed. For Ridenour, what began as a stress reaction in her hip in 2020 spiraled into a three-year nightmare of calf issues, multiple concussions, and the persistent fatigue of long COVID. Each setback compounded the last, creating what sports medicine experts call the "injury spiral"—where one problem leads to compensatory movements, training modifications, and psychological stress that breed additional problems.

"I was overtrained and battling a little injury," Ridenour recalls of her 2023 Pan Am Games withdrawal. This simple statement reveals a common trap in elite athletics: the tendency to push through warning signs until the body forces a complete shutdown.

Long COVID particularly devastated athletes worldwide, affecting cardiovascular capacity and energy systems crucial for endurance sports. For a triathlete who must excel in swimming, cycling, and running, the systemic effects were career-threatening. Studies suggest that up to 25% of athletes who contracted COVID-19 experienced prolonged symptoms that significantly impacted their performance.

The psychological toll of repeated setbacks cannot be understated. Sports psychologists note that elite athletes, accustomed to controlling their bodies and performance, often struggle profoundly when that control is stripped away. For three years, Ridenour watched her world ranking plummet while her peers advanced toward Olympic qualification.

Sometimes You Have to Go Halfway Around the World to Find Yourself

After her DNF (Did Not Finish) at the Pan Am Games, Ridenour made a decision that would have seemed unthinkable during her earlier success: she left the National Triathlon Centre in Victoria—Canada's premier training facility—and moved to Cambridge, New Zealand.

"After my DNF, I knew I needed to make some changes if I wanted to progress in the sport," she explained. This wasn't just a training camp or temporary relocation; it was a complete life restructuring that separated her from familiar support systems, training partners, and even her national coaching structure.

The move served multiple purposes beyond simple geography. Environmental psychology research shows that dramatic location changes can break destructive thought patterns and training habits that become entrenched over time. For athletes stuck in cycles of injury and disappointment, sometimes the physical environment itself becomes psychologically triggering.

New Zealand's triathlon culture also offered a different approach to training and competition. While Canadian programs often emphasize high-volume, structured training regimens, New Zealand's more relaxed, nature-integrated approach prioritized consistency over intensity—exactly what Ridenour's battered body needed.

The relocation also connected her with coach Lachie Kerin, based in Australia, who could provide fresh perspectives on her training methods. Sometimes the most profound breakthroughs come not from doing more, but from completely reimagining how to approach the same challenges.

From DNF to World Cup Victory: The Science of Athletic Resurrection

The foundation of Ridenour's comeback wasn't revolutionary training methods or cutting-edge technology—it was something far more fundamental: consistency.

"Since this switch, I have been able to train and race consistently, which has been the foundation to my solid back end season of 2024 and my 2025 season so far," she noted. This consistency principle often gets overlooked in favor of more dramatic narratives, but sports science consistently shows that uninterrupted training blocks produce exponentially better results than sporadic high-intensity efforts.

• September 2024: Won Canadian Sprint Triathlon National Championships
• February 2025: Became the first Canadian in a decade to win a World Cup triathlon (Napier, New Zealand - 56:24)
• July 2025: Victory at Americas Triathlon Cup in Montreal
• August 2025: First place at Americas Triathlon Cup in Kelowna

Each victory built momentum for the next, creating what sports psychologists call "success spirals"—the positive inverse of injury spirals. Her World Cup victory was particularly significant, as it demonstrated she could compete at the highest level below Olympic competition.

The specific nature of triathlon also worked in her favor during recovery. Unlike single-sport athletes who must excel in one area, triathletes can often compensate for weaknesses in one discipline with strengths in others while injured areas heal. This sport-specific advantage allowed Ridenour to maintain competitive fitness even when not at 100% in all areas.

Racing Smart: How Elite Athletes Plan Their Path Back to the Top

Ridenour's competition strategy revealed sophisticated planning that many comeback athletes overlook. Rather than immediately jumping into the highest-level competitions, she strategically built her confidence and world ranking through a calculated progression of events.

Her 2025 season included World Cup races, WTCS (World Triathlon Championship Series) events, and French Grand Prix competitions—each serving different purposes in her overall development. World Cup races offered points for world ranking improvement, WTCS events provided Olympic-level competition experience, and Grand Prix races allowed for tactical experimentation without massive ranking consequences.

The geographic strategy was equally important. By spending January through May in New Zealand, she maximized training time in optimal conditions while building toward the European racing season. Her ability to travel between New Zealand, Canada, and Europe demonstrated the global nature of modern triathlon success—athletes must be willing to chase optimal conditions year-round.

"I typically spend January to May in Cambridge, New Zealand. I'll come home for a couple weeks in May, before heading off to Europe for a racing block. I'll spend the end of summer and fall mostly in Canada using it as a base and travelling in and out for races," she explained. This nomadic lifestyle, while challenging, optimizes training environments and competition opportunities.

Her rise to 64th in world rankings represents significant progress, but more importantly, it positions her within striking distance of Olympic qualification standards. In triathlon, roughly the top 55-60 athletes per gender typically qualify for Olympic competition, making her current position tantalizingly close to her ultimate goal.

It Takes a Village: Building the Team Behind the Comeback

No athletic comeback succeeds in isolation, and Ridenour's recovery highlights the importance of building new support systems when traditional ones aren't sufficient. Her partnership with Trent Thorpe, a New Zealand triathlete, provided both personal and professional advantages—offering local knowledge, training partnerships, and emotional support during the challenging relocation period.

Her recent decision to join the Hummingbird Collective represents another strategic move to expand her community connections. This triathlon-focused organization provides networking opportunities, shared resources, and collective marketing power that individual athletes often lack.

The coaching relationship with Lachie Kerin, conducted remotely between New Zealand and Australia, demonstrates how modern technology enables athletes to access the best expertise regardless of geographic limitations. Remote coaching has become increasingly sophisticated, with power meters, heart rate monitors, and video analysis allowing detailed feedback across continents.

Her family's support for such a dramatic life change cannot be understated. Moving to the opposite side of the world requires not just personal sacrifice, but understanding from loved ones who may see the athlete much less frequently. The decision to prioritize athletic goals over geographic proximity to family represents one of the most difficult aspects of elite sport.

The Olympic Dream: Turning Setbacks Into Stepping Stones

"I do have my eyes on the Olympics and I'm doing everything I can to put myself in the best position leading up to the qualifying period," Ridenour stated with quiet determination. This goal, which seemed impossible during her injury-plagued years, now appears achievable thanks to her systematic approach to recovery.

The 2026 Olympics (assuming she's referring to the LA 2028 Olympics, or potentially a correction in timing) represent the ultimate test of whether her comeback strategy translates to sport's highest level. Olympic qualification in triathlon requires not just individual excellence, but also navigating complex national team selection processes and international competition quotas.

Her story resonates beyond athletics because it demonstrates universal principles of resilience: the willingness to abandon approaches that aren't working, the courage to make dramatic life changes, and the patience to rebuild systematically rather than seeking quick fixes.

Lessons From the Comeback Trail

For aspiring athletes facing their own setbacks, Ridenour's blueprint offers actionable strategies:

1. Honestly assess what isn't working - Sometimes the problem isn't effort level, but approach
2. Consider dramatic environment changes - New locations can break destructive patterns
3. Prioritize consistency over intensity - Uninterrupted training trumps sporadic heroic efforts
4. Build strategic competition progressions - Use smaller victories to create momentum toward larger goals
5. Invest in new support systems - Success requires community, especially during difficult transitions

Whether facing athletic setbacks or life challenges, the principles of strategic change, consistent effort, and community support apply universally. Ridenour's journey from collapsed athlete to World Cup winner proves that sometimes the most radical changes unlock the greatest comebacks.

Her 2025 season continues as she pursues Olympic qualification, but regardless of that ultimate outcome, her resurrection story already offers a proven path forward for anyone willing to travel far enough—literally or figuratively—to find their way back to success.

What major change might unlock your own comeback story?