The Luik triplets, also known as the “Rio Trio,” have beaten every female runner in their nation, qualifying for the upcoming Rio Olympics.
“We are the first triplets who are going to the Olympics,” Leila, Liina, and Lily Luik told Epoch Times in an email.
According to NBC Sports, a nation may enter no more than three athletes in an Olympic marathon—which is lucky for the Luik family, and Estonia, the country they repesent.
They are also the only Estonians to have met the Olympic women’s marathon qualifying time of 2:45:00.
“We think when we are really there and together on the start line, then we will realize what we have achieved, but of course we are very happy and satisfied that we are almost there and doing what we have dreamed since we started running as professionals,” Leila said.
The trio trained for the Olympics almost every day. In the morning their two-and-a-half hour training is much more intense than it is in the evenings, they said. But they do get plenty of rest time, “We try to rest a lot during trainings,” Lily said.
When asked who is the fastest runner, Lily said Leila is. “She holds the fastest marathon record—2.37.12, but Liina hold fastest times in shorter distances like half marathon, 10K, 5K and 3K.”
Nonetheless, she said, though they compete with each other, they support each other as well. On the track, “We run as fast as we can,” Lily said, but mentally, “We are more with each other.”
