An interview with Lisa Becharas
1. What motivated you to become a guide for a visually impaired athlete? (I guess more like how did I become a guide)
I was recruited by USA triathlon to be a guide for Taylor as they were looking for a higher level guide as she was getting fast quick. In the visually impaired category it's a bit of an arms (or legs) race to find a strong cyclist as that's part of the race the guide can actually positively impact the athlete's outcome. At the world championships fellow professional triathletes Sara Perez Sala and Pami Oliveria also guided athletes from their home countries.
2. How does that process work in the United States? You seem to always work with Taylor Talbot. Does she have other guides as well, or do you two always work together?
I was recruited to guide specifically for Taylor, but I won't always be available to guide her as sometime I will have to prioritize my own racing and training. Another professional triathlete, Grace Alexander, is also in cue to guide for Taylor, and was supposed to at a WTCS race in Montreal, but got covid at the last minute!
3. As a guide, there are very specific rules about how you work with your athlete during a race - can you briefly describe how that works? What are the dos and don'ts of working as a guide during a race? Have you had any close calls?
There are many rules, because World Triathlon loves rules! In the swim we are tethered together at the thigh and our teather has to be a specific length (or shorter) and our heads can never be further than 1.5m away which can be kind of hard in choppy water! Para Triathlon is a non-drafting event so on the bike we have to stay 10m back from the bike in front of us. On the run, I have to be in line or behind Taylor, to prevent me from 'pulling' her along! Basically, as a guide it's my job to call out any potential dangers (speed bumps, turns, other teams, etc) and safely guide her around those obstacles.
4. Your work with Taylor has involved a lot of travel, often where the two of you are at races without much other support. We all know from experience that that can be difficult at times. How do you manage those feelings around important race efforts?
Guiding has been a very eye opening experience for me as I am actually acting as someone else's eyes! I have learned that there are many parts of the world that aren't very accessible (ex. most of Europe) for disabled individuals. Throw in language barriers, travelling with two bikes (one being a tandem bike), two big suitcases and a visually impaired athlete there's a lot of frustrating moments involved around travel. However, the world championships were a positive experience for me because USAT really rolled out the red carpet by bringing bike mechanics, physios, and loads of USAT logistics personale, so we were very much taken care of in Spain! Guiding can be super frustrating and overwhelming at times, but the para triathlon community is really an amazing community filled with so many amazing, hard working individuals. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to experience it all first hand!
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