Heather Wurtele

In October 2019, Wurtele and her husband, Trevor, both jointly announced their retirement from professional racing.

In 2007 Wurtele received her pro card after seeing the prize money she was forfeiting as an amateur the previous year. The next year she and husband Trevor, who also received his pro triathlon card, decided to fully commit to the sport of triathlon. As a result, they both quit their jobs, Wurtele's as a lab technician at Natural Resources Canada and Trevor's as a currency broker, they sold most of their possessions, and purchased an RV that they used to travel from race to race and to different training locations. That year she won her first big race as a professional at Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Since then she has notched two more Ironman wins at Coeur d'Alene, two Ironman St. George wins, and a win at Ironman Lake Placid. At Ironman 70.3 and half-iron distance races she has accumulated over two dozen wins.

Wurtele participated in adventure racing for two years, but grew tired of the equipment intensive sport and didn't enjoy orienteering. Wurtele moved on to participate in a few triathlons in 2004, having some modest success in her age group. She moved to Norway in 2005 so that she could pursue a doctoral degree in plant genetics and forestry. After a year as a full-time student she put getting her Ph.D. on hold and returned to North America where she began intense training as age-group athlete. That year she won the Canadian Long Course Championships, beating former Ironman World Champion Lori Bowden, and then one week later was the first overall female age-group athlete at Ironman Coeur d’Alene. This qualified her for the Ironman World Championships.

Heather Wurtele (née Danforth, born July 12, 1979) is a Canadian professional triathlete who races long-distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She has over 60 career professional triathlon podium finishes and 30 plus career wins, including 25 half iron distance wins and 7 Ironman wins. Her career highlights include placing third at the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, second at the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship and third at the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. She also placed 3rd at the ITU Long Course World Championships in 2017 and won the North American 70.3 Championships in 2015 and 2016.