{"id":91878,"date":"2025-08-24T08:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91878\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T08:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:01:10","slug":"candice-warner-exclusive-candice-warners-life-as-an-elite-teen-athlete-left-her-feeling-super-lonely-looking-back-she-has-one-regret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91878\/","title":{"rendered":"Candice Warner exclusive: Candice Warner’s life as an elite teen athlete left her feeling ‘super lonely’. Looking back, she has one regret"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: \ufeffCandice Warner<\/a> was just 14 years old when she kicked off her career as an elite athlete<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And while it set her on a path to success in the sporting world, it didn’t come without its sacrifices.<\/p>\n

While her peers were navigating the highs and lows of teenage<\/a> life, Warner, driven by her unwavering determination to be a professional ironwoman, was locked in a schedule of early mornings and strict training regimes that at times left her feeling “isolated”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeffSorry to break it to you, but leggings are ‘dead’<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CandiceCandice Warner was the official ambassador for the Voltaren City2Surf 2025. (Supplied\/ Palin Communications)<\/p>\n

“It got me success, but at the same time I was super lonely; I was isolated from my friends and I didn’t prioritise balance,” Warner tells 9honey Coach.<\/p>\n

“Looking back now, I struggled to integrate with my friends and it was a really tough time for me. While [my friends] were going out, mingling and enjoying their life, I was just so focused on achieving my goals.”<\/p>\n

As she pushed towards those goals, Warner followed a very strict training regime pushing her body to the absolute limits and approaching exercise as simply a job to get done.<\/p>\n

“Exercising was something that I had to do rather than something that I enjoyed doing,” Warner, who was the official ambassador for the Voltaren City2Surf 2025, recalls.<\/p>\n

“Every day there was an absolute purpose and I had to push my body to the limit… and there’s times where you’re just exhausted mentally.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeffTwo minutes of these ‘bicep curls for your brain’ can improve your sleep<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CandiceWarner, pictured in 2009, comitted to a gruelling training regime for her sporting goals. (Getty)<\/p>\n

She adds that while she wasn’t pushed by her parents or anyone else in her life to pursue such a mammoth goal, the pressure Warner put on herself at the time was immense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If I didn’t achieve my goals, there was a lot of pressure that I put on myself because I had put all my eggs into one basket,” she reflects.<\/p>\n

While it wasn’t easy, Warner’s sacrifices paid off as she made her dream of becoming a successful ironwoman come true.<\/p>\n

She became the youngest professional ironwoman at the age of 14, became NSW state champion at 16 and landed a spot at the Nutri-Grain Ironman & Ironwoman Series, one of the most challenging and iconic events in Australia, at 23.<\/p>\n

She has won three World Championship gold medals, dozens of Australian and State championship titles and won the ‘Queen of Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa’.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeffCommon misconception putting people off strength training<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CandiceIt’s no doubt that her discipline contributed to her success but Warner wishes she had prioritised balance. (Supplied\/ Palin Communications)<\/p>\n

It’s no doubt that what Warner refers to as her “tunnel vision” contributed to her success and established the discipline she needs in her busy life as a mum-of-three and a media personality.<\/p>\n

But with hindsight, the now-retired athlete wishes she had given herself more grace.<\/p>\n

“It’s tough because when you are so driven, there isn’t anything that you wouldn’t do to achieve those goals. But I think what is important is balance \u2013 with anything in life and that’s something that I really struggled with,” Warner says.<\/p>\n

Now 40, Warner says her relationship with exercise is much more balanced \u2013 something she understands is so important.<\/p>\n

“Movement is so different for me now. It was always something that pushed me and something that I always had to do in order to be successful at my sport,” she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“But movement now is something that I prioritise because I really enjoy it.”<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whether it’s doing a weights session, going for a jog or going to a workout class with a friend, Warner prioritises movement that she enjoys as it helps her feel her best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Making exercise a consistent part of life definitely helps me be the best version of myself. So physically and mentally being the best mother, the best wife, the best sister, the best daughter,” she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I am a lot clearer in my thinking and I think I’m a better person to be around when I am moving.<\/p>\n

“I have suffered [with my] mental health many years ago and I found the best way for me to deal with any situation is by just moving.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeffThe post-dinner habit a sleep expert swears by<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CandiceWarner hopes her kids grow up understanding the importance of balance when it comes to exercise. (Instagram\/ @candywarner1)<\/p>\n

Now, as she raises her three daughters with husband David Warner, Warner hopes to help her kids find that balance that she struggled so much with when she was younger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Moving your body should be about having fun and feeling good,” Warner says, explaining that she hopes to teach her daughters, who are entering their teenage years, to appreciate “what our bodies are capable of”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Exercise for me, and I really stress this, isn’t about losing weight. It isn’t about looking a certain way,” she adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Moving is about feeling good and when we feel good our whole life is much better for it.”<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: \ufeffCandice Warner was just 14 years old when she kicked off her career as an elite athlete.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-91878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}