She may be used to longer triathlon distances, but Charles-Barclay has her sight set on the Olympics.
“Paris is definitely one of my next aims. The Olympics has always been in my heart from when I was a young swimmer.”
She knows it wont be easy; Tokyo 2020 highlighted the rich vein of form British triathlon finds itself in, with Team GB leaving the Japanese capital with a gold and two silver medals.
Two of the star athletes, Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown, also took top honours in the 2021 Super League Triathlon Championship series.
“We have so much strength and depth in British triathlon across all the distances,” Charles-Barclay said.
“Even just getting a spot on the start line of any Olympic distance race is a challenge.”
There were five British women in the top 10 of the 70.3 world championships in which she took gold.
Charles-Barclay made her World Triathlon Championship Series debut in Leeds earlier this year when someone dropped out a week before the race.
“I came in with very little preparation and I finished fifth, which gave me confidence I could be competitive at this distance.
“Over the next year I aim to get more ranking points and make more start lines to aim for events like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.”
Charles-Barclay has barely had time to let her world championship exploits sink in, having jetted straight to Malibu to compete as a wildcard entry in the Super League finale – a much shorter, variable format of the sport.
So before what sounds like an even busier season to come in 2022, will she stop and celebrate becoming the best in the world?
“Absolutely! Oh except I’m running the London Marathon this weekend. It’s just for fun though, I promise.”