Ruth Astle is at a crossroads in her career and admits her injury nightmare has her wondering whether she can go on.

The three-time IRONMAN winner has already been forced to give up on making it to the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona this year because of a hip problem.

But in an emotional Instagram post, she admits that while she hasn’t given up hope of returning to action, she has also contemplated “throwing the towel in and applying for real jobs” as her latest treatment has had no effect.

“In a state of limbo”

She wrote: “Oh triathlon. . . You continue to beat me up. In a state of limbo. The steroid injection has made no difference to the hip.

“I started training again to see how load would affect it and after 10 days of training was wiped out by some illness / virus. That was 2 weeks ago and still struggling to feel myself again.

“Being back in a position of an unknown injury with no real resolution is really messing with my head. Having no clear answers or timelines or certainty is the hardest thing to deal with.

“Swinging hard from hugely motivated and wanting to do everything to completely lacking energy or motivation to do anything, and throwing the towel in and applying for real jobs.”

It’s the first time in eight years there will be no Ruth Astle in Kona, and a far cry from her spectacular fifth-place finish at the delayed 2021 IRONMAN World Championship in St George in May 2022.

Now 36, Astle admits the future is clouded with doubt as she tries to stay positive and battle through her continuing injury nightmare, which began with a calf problem and has now morphed into a mystery hip complaint.

She said: “As an athlete so much of your self worth comes not just from race results but training and seeing progress, and when it has been months since you could train properly there is so much doubt, uncertainty and frustration.”

“Glimmers of hope”

Astle started 2025 with a brutal DNF at IRONMAN South Africa, and while she recovered to finish 11th at Ironman 70.3 Valencia a month later in April, things have not improved.

She said: “I am taking a day at a time, and still have glimmers of hope I might make it back to a race start, but sharing the many lows of sport as a balance for the majority of ‘insta reality’ people share.

“Have the constant reminder that in the grand scheme of things still have all the real positives in my life, but also being kind to myself that I can be frustrated at the situation!”