Sarah Lindsay
Three-time Olympian, Personal Trainer and co-founder of ROAR Fitness
- 3Winter Olympic Games
- 9xBritish Champion
- GoldEuropean relay, 2008
Founder, ROAR Fitness
About Sarah Lindsay
Sarah Lindsay raced short track speed skating for Great Britain at three Winter Olympics, with a team of specialists planning every session around her. She qualified as a personal trainer while still racing, coached strength and conditioning for Team GB’s figure skaters, and turned to coaching full time when she retired in 2010. “A selfish athlete became a privileged coach” is how she described the change to Gulf News.
In 2016, Sarah co-founded ROAR Fitness with Rich Phillipps. Together, they developed the ROAR Method, combining her Olympic preparation and coaching experience with his background in body transformation. Every ROAR trainer is trained in that method, with clients supported by a personal trainer and a separate nutrition coach.
Whether clients train in London, in Dubai or with a ROAR coach online, the purpose is clear: measurable progress in body composition, performance and long-term health.
- Sport
- Short track speed skating
- Co-founded
- ROAR Fitness, 2016
- Ambassador
Great Britain, short track speed skating
Olympian and European Champion
Three consecutive Olympic selections. European relay gold. A decade at the top of British short track. Sarah’s record reflects the ability to perform repeatedly in a sport where explosive power, technical control and split-second decisions determine the outcome.
2000
European Bronze and British Champion
Bronze with Great Britain’s women’s 3000 metres relay at the European Championships in Bormio, Italy, and the first of nine British titles in a row. British Ice Skating’s women’s 500 m trophy now carries her name: the Sarah Lindsay Rose Bowl.
2002
Salt Lake City Olympics
At 21, Sarah made her Olympic debut in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres, finishing tenth in the 500 metres against the world’s strongest short track skaters.
2006
Turin Olympics
At her second Winter Olympics, Sarah achieved her best Olympic placing: eighth in the 500 metres. She also represented Great Britain in the 1,000 and 1,500 metres.
2008
European Champion
Gold with Great Britain’s women’s 3000 metres relay team at the European Championships in Ventspils, Latvia.
2010
Vancouver Olympics
Returning from a serious spinal injury, Sarah earned selection for a third consecutive Winter Olympics. She competed in the 500 metres, completing an Olympic career spanning eight years.
Background: the opening ceremony, Vancouver 2010
Sarah’s Career
Sarah’s career has demanded more than the ability to compete. Returning from injury, finding purpose beyond sport and building ROAR each required her to apply the same determination in a different way.
- 1996
Great Britain Debut
Sarah came to the ice at seven as a figure skater, until she was spotted at the rink and encouraged to try speed skating. She made her Great Britain debut in 1996.
- 2007
Injury and Comeback
Training at a London rink, she crashed head first into the boards and ruptured a disc in her spine. She spent five weeks at the Olympic Medical Centre and more than a year away from racing.
- 2010
From Athlete to Coach
She had told her coach she would stop once she beat her personal best. At Vancouver she did, by a few hundredths of a second, and retired on it to coach full time.
- 2016
ROAR Opens
Sarah and Rich opened the first ROAR gym at Liverpool Street in April 2016. Their ambition was to bring the detailed preparation and specialist support Sarah had experienced as an athlete to people pursuing their own strength, physique and health goals, starting with personal training in London.
- 2018
BBC Commentator
Sarah returned to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as a BBC commentator, bringing first-hand understanding of short track’s speed, tactics and competitive pressure to viewers.
- 2020
ROAR High Street Kensington
In October 2020 Sarah and Rich opened Roar 2 on Kensington High Street, bringing the same passion for results-led personal training to West London.
- 2023
ROAR Downtown Dubai
In January 2023 ROAR opened its first gym outside London, in Burj Vista in Downtown Dubai, bringing the same one-to-one personal training to Dubai.
The training floor at ROAR Downtown Dubai
Sarah’s Training Philosophy
Sarah’s approach combines high expectations with the support to meet them. Build strength, learn to move well and recognise progress through what you can do. These principles shape her coaching and the standards every ROAR trainer works to.
01 Lift Before You Run
Strength training is the foundation. Developing muscle improves your shape and physical capacity, while supporting metabolic health as you age. Sarah encourages clients to start building strength from the outset, rather than waiting until they have lost weight to begin.
Sarah to Hello!, January 2026
02 Master a Handful of Lifts
Progress begins with exercises you can perform well and develop over time. Sarah advocates mastering fundamental lifting movements, then increasing the challenge without sacrificing execution. Her rule is direct: “Never compromise on form.”
Sarah to Women’s Fitness, July 2022
03 Train for a Strength Goal
Give yourself something tangible to work towards. A stronger lift or better-controlled movement provides evidence that your effort is working. Sarah uses performance goals to give training direction and help clients build confidence through achievements they can recognise.
Sarah to Hello!, January 2026
04 Encourage, Don’t Shout
High standards and positive encouragement belong together. Sarah’s coaching helps people recognise their ability, attempt what once felt beyond them and develop confidence through doing it. Challenge has a purpose; support helps you rise to it. In her words “Positive encouragement works just as well”.
Sarah to SheerLuxe, August 2022
Celebrity Testimonials
Press Coverage
Sarah in the Press
“Here, Sarah Lindsay shares an exclusive full-body workout, featuring her favourite dumbbell exercises.”
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“Sarah works alongside her clients in her gym using a combination of fun and dedicated training regimes.”
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“I am not anti-cardio as such, but extensive cardio to create a calorie deficit is over.”
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“Warming up is so important, as well as making sure you eat the right foods to fuel you and stay hydrated…”
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“Every rep, set, weight a person does is recorded so it can be progressed every session.”
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Hear It From Sarah
Sarah talks openly about why three Olympics still left her feeling she had failed, what it took to build ROAR and how she found her feet after sport.
- Performance People podcast · June 2026Three Olympics… And I Still Felt Like a Failure
- VISIBLE podcast · July 2025The Olympics and Building a Business
- British Chamber of Commerce Dubai podcast · November 2024Olympic Mindset to Business Gold
- BBC · January 2024Pointless Celebrities
- The LiveHealthy Podcast · December 2022Olympian Sarah Lindsay on Opening ROAR DXB
- Outspoken Beauty podcast · March 2019Olympics, Big Decisions and a Whole New Life
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