AIS triathlon scholarship holders train in their home environment with their home based coach. Scholarship holders compete in the national triathlon series in Australia however, the major focus is to compete in ITU World Cup Olympic distance events and to gain selection in Triathlon Australia’s team to compete at the World Championships. Ultimately, all of the scholarship holders goal is to achieve selection to the Australian Olympic team and to achieve success.

ITU World Cup events are held through out the World across all continents with the major focus increasingly becoming Europe. The majority of our athletes spend up four months away from Australia although for some, they are better suited to train in their home environment and target specific races.

An average training day for athletes will include all three disciplines (in either two or three separate sessions). Most of the top elites do two to three sessions per day. All of the AIS elite athletes also do core strength and flexibility programs two to three times a week as an integral part of their preparation and for injury prevention as well, recovery sessions are incorporate within all programs.

Recovery is very important. All athletes, from junior elite right through to senior elite, need recovery time to help their bodies adapt to the training. Many top-level athletes have a day off every week - or at least a very light day where they just do a short, easy recovery session – as well, elite athletes focus on nutrition and soft tissue recovery sessions such as massage or ice baths.

Training programs for juniors or beginners would be very different to this program. Ask your coach for a program suitable for your level or contact your state Triathlon Association for your local clubs and coaches

In 2006 training bases are established in Boulder, Colorado USA and Aix les Bain, France to provide the athlete a supportive environment in which they can call home, continue their training and travel to and from World Cup competitions. Athletes are supported by sport science, physio, soft tissue and management services. As well, opportunities are provided for their home base coaches to attend.

The AIS triathlon program works very hard on race analysis for athletes and course profiling. Using state-of-the-art techniques, the specific demands of racing Olympic-distance triathlons are examined. How each of the athletes perform in races is monitored and important feedback is provided to try and improve training methods.

Did you know?

Australia is one of only two nations to have competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games

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