Eric Haakonssen

Haakonssen is a Performance Support Specialist with over 12 years of experience across four Olympic cycles; in endurance, sprint, and action sports disciplines. He is currently employed by Surfing Australia’s High Performance Program as the Performance Support and Podium Manager, where he leads a multidisciplinary team to support athletes throughout their development and oversees the Podium Program, providing direct support to World Tour and Olympic-bound athletes.

Previously, Haakonssen served as Senior Physiologist with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Australian Cycling Team from 2014 to 2021, working with Road, BMX Race and BMX Freestyle programs. He holds a PhD from AIS, focusing on body composition management and bone health in female road cyclists. Haakonssen also participated in the AIS Coaching Scholarship program and spent nearly a decade coaching numerous World Tour road cyclists.

Working across an eclectic range of sports has required a working knowledge of the physiology and coaching science of strength and power and more recently skill acquisition with the introduction of BMX Freestyle and Surfing as an Olympic disciplines. He has provided extensive support in athlete testing and monitoring, coaching, strength and conditioning, performance analysis and research supervision. Haakonssen now leads experts in these areas and in medical and physiotherapy disciplines to achieve impactful outcomes for athletes and coaches.