Triathlon - Home
Australian Sports Commission
Triathlon is a challenging blend of three endurance sports - swimming, cycling and running. However, it is one single sport, not a collection of these three sports and as such, triathletes have very specific training needs. Triathletes do need swimming, cycling and running fitness and skills, but they also need the proper sequencing of training that gives them technique, endurance, strength, speed and recovery.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Triathlon program is overseen by performance manager Andrew Logan.
The AIS triathlon program has evolved from its initial inception in 2001 as a Junior Elite program; to an U23 development program when, in 2002, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) introduced the U23 category; and then in 2004 to its present focus of supporting and targeting Australia’s elite triathletes competing in Olympic distance events at Olympic and Commonwealth Games, ITU World Championships and the ITU World Cup series.
The AIS triathlon program works in partnership with Triathlon Australia (TA) and is an integral component of TA’s national high performance plan. (For more information on the TA’s high performance pathways please see the Triathlon Australia website).
The AIS triathlon program is focused on assisting, developing and providing world leading cutting edge support to our best elite triathletes with a specific target outcome of winning medals at the 2008 Beijing and the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Operated as a decentralised program, triathletes train in their home environment with their home based coaches. The AIS provides support - added value - for both coaches and the triathlete to attend camps, clinics, project focused activity; access to sport science and sports medicine services and to use the latest sports performance technology.
The principle aims of the AIS triathlon program are:
- To help Australian elite triathletes achieve medal success at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games;
- To help the athletes develop the physical, physiological and psychological basis to be able to handle the workload required to succeed at the highest elite level in Triathlon;
- To support and assist the coaches of AIS athletes;
- To examine specific needs of Triathlon in race situations and work to optimise training methods and race tactics;
- To provide the athletes with the support while living as a professional sportsperson in various locations and situations; and
- To develop the highest levels of professionalism in all aspects of the sport of Triathlon.
As the program is a decentralised program, all AIS triathletes are “Associate Scholarship” holders with their various state institutes and academies. The “Associate Scholarship” status will ensure all “home training” needs are met in the areas of Sport Science, Sport Medicine, Strength and Conditioning and ACE.
AIS Triathlon program success
Under the guidance of the program’s inaugural head coach (2001-05),former world champion triathlete Jackie Fairweather (nee Gallagher) the program achieved remarkable success. Most recently, five current AIS scholarship holders competed at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games with Brad Kahlefeldt and Peter Robertson winning gold and bronze respectively in the men’s event and former scholarship holder Emma Snowsill winning gold in the women’s event.
In 2005, Peter Robertson and Brad Kahlefeldt won gold and bronze respectively in the men’s and Emma Snowsill and Annabel Luxford won gold and silver respectively in the women’s events at the ITU World championships.
The program was awarded the 2005 AIS sport program of the year.
In the first three years the program achieved outstanding results with nine medals at World Championship level (Jnr, U23 and Snr) – five of them Gold!
Heath Francis