From the disappointment of not qualifying for the Commonwealth Games to becoming a world triathlete champion and then winning a BATFA award for the Best Adapted Screenplay for an anti-war movie this month, the journey of Lesley Paterson is nothing short of an awe-inspiring tale in itself.
On Sunday, Paterson took home the prestigious award for her adaption of Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front published in 1929, a screenplay she co-wrote with Ian Stokell. It took the duo a whopping 16 years to turn their work into a feature film.
And it was worth the wait. The movie on the experiences of a young German soldier during the First World War won seven awards overall at the BAFTA.
Paterson, born in Stirling (Scotland), was introduced to triathlon by her father when she was 14. After showing immense promise that saw her winning bronze and silver at the 1998 and 2000 Duathlon World Championships respectively, she began dreaming of making it to the Olympics one day. However, she took retirement from the sport itself after failing to qualify for the 2002 CWG, a development she considers the ‘lowest moment’ of her life.
A move to USA followed where she began afresh with her husband Simon Marshall in California. She did her masters in theatre and began focusing on writing for films.
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A visit to Scotland in 2007 resulted in Paterson rediscovering her love for triathlon as she took part and won the Scottish National Championships race.
And then she went on to win five world championships – ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships gold medals in 2012 and 2018 while three gold medals at XTERRA Triathlon World Championships in 2011, 2012 and 2018.
While she was dominating triathlon events, Paterson simultaneously was working on realising her adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front into a feature film alongside her husband and Stokell.
“Dealing with adversity teaches you so much and makes you much more resilient for the future. Sport is an exercise in resiliency and so is film,” the 42-year-old told The Scotsman.
“I knew I had confidence and realised I had to find my own way to the top and not be manufactured by a system. I think that’s why I got success. Alongside being a professional athlete, I was always writing, producing, having those creative juices bubbling away at the same time,” she added.
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