Blonde identical triplets Leila, Liina and Lily Luik are ALL going for gold at the 2016 Olympic marathon
The sisters are set to make history as they become the first triplets to compete against each other in the Games’ 120-year history
MEET the gorgeous identical triplets who are all going for gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon.
Leila, Liina and Lily Luik (try saying that fast!), who hail from Tartu, Estonia, are set to make history as they become the first triplets to compete against each other in the Games’ 120-year history.
The 30-year-old blonde bombshells, who only took up distance running six years ago, have set up a Facebook page called ‘Trio to Rio’ to gain support ahead of their 26.2 mile race on 14 August 2016.
Liina encouraged her sisters to take up long-distance running and says they prefer it to the more “highly technical” nature of sprinting.
Lily added: “We have been active since childhood, we love dancing, we love to be active and this pushed us to professional sports.”
After taking part in numerous international contests, they decided to try out for the Olympics.
"We saw ... after one year we had good results in Estonia and we thought we could achieve something good also outside of Estonia and to do some big competitions like European Championships and the Olympic games," Lily said.
In 2011, two of them claimed three national championship titles: Liina in the 10,000 meters and half-marathon and Leila in the marathon.
In 2014 they became the first triplets in history to compete in a European Championships when they ran in Zurich.
Despite being in competition, the trio, who are also professional dancers and work as lifeguards, support each other unconditionally.
Leila said: “Three together, we get so much energy from each other.
"No one wants to be the slowest. We push, push, push.”
While they are happy to train together, the girls choose to live apart.
Liina spends much of her time with her boyfriend in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, while Leila is engaged to be married.
Despite their determination, the triplets – who admit their striking blonde locks are “from a bottle” - are not expected to end up on the podium.
But this hasn’t altered their enthusiasm and they say their main goal is to cross the finish line with a smile.