Falls Creek Altitude Trails A Winner As Aussie Triathletes Hit The Road To Rio

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Triathlon Australia, November 14, 2013: Falls Creek Alpine Resort altitude training camps will again feature prominently on the road to Rio for a group of aspiring young Australian triathletes.

As one of Australia’s most innovative High Performance coaches, Jamie Turner quickly identified the Falls Creek trails in 2009 as a perfect training environment and it will again kick start his squad’s summer training cycles between November 2013 and the immediate build up to 2016.

It has also been the “summer home” for dual Olympian and London Olympic bronze medallist Erin Densham and her 2012 team mate Brendan Sexton who have been Falls Creek regulars throughout their rise to the Olympic team.

And for Turner he is a firm believer that “familiarity breeds success” and he has locked in six specific training camps between the end of 2013 and the start of 2016 as he prepares his exciting young squad for the next Olympic preparation.

Results achieved over the past four years have shown successful outcomes from Turner’s group which has produced two of Australia’s latest ITU world champions.

He has just added his latest world championship tag to squad member Charlotte McShane, who has returned home from Spain with her ITU Under 23 World Championship gold medal won in London last month.

She joins Turner’s leading male triathlete Aaron Royle, who won the ITU Under 23 world crown in Auckland last year and who has already gained an automatic nomination from Triathlon Australia to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association for this year’s Games in Glasgow.

Turner’s squad also includes leading US Olympic prospect Gwen Jorgensen and Australia Under 23 representatives Natalie Van Coevorden, Tamsyn Moana-Veale and Grace Musgrove as well as Royle’s training partners Sexton and emerging youngster Ryan Bailie.

And much of their success Turner pins to the specific moderate altitude training camps many have attended in Falls Creek – nestled some 1,700m above sea level in the picturesque, welcoming Alpine Shire.

Turner will take his Wollongong-based group for two lots of 300hr training blocks at pre and post Christmas camps, with the majority of training centred around running and swimming, with a minimum amount of bike work.

“There is no doubt in our minds that the Falls Creek Alpine resort presents a great training environment for our squad,” said Turner.

“The running trails are amongst the best anywhere in the world and access to the swimming facility in Mt Beauty during the day is ideal and the crew at the Crows Nest apartments in Falls Creek provide us with a home away from home which is crucial in an altitude environment.

“What we saw last year was an increase in the athlete’s education and awareness of how their body adapts to a training load and we were able to establish each individual athlete’s optimal post altitude performance window and that’s a key.

“We believe that locking in these next six camps in the lead up to next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and for Rio in 2016 will be crucial in our preparation.

“Our team look forward to going to Falls Creek and Mount Beauty every year – they see it as one of the real highlights of the end of one year and the start of another.

“They feel part of the community and it is equally important for the local community for them to also feel part of our group as well.

“Rest assured if any of these kids make it to Rio the locals will all feel part of the process they’ve been through.

“It makes the athlete feel good and it makes the locals proud that they have played some small part in that journey.”

Turner’s group will arrive in Falls Creek on November 24 and return home for their Christmas break on December 21 before saddling up for their 2014 campaign between January 4 and January 24, when most will return to Wollongong for the prestigious Australia Day Aquathlon.

They will then set themselves for the domestic summer series in January, February and March, which will include the:

Australian Sprint Distance Championships in Elwood (VIC) on February 16;
The Australian Olympic Distance Triathlon Championships in Devonport (TAS) on March 1 and the ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba on March 15 and 16;
Before they embark on the lucrative five-month ITU World Championship Series starting in Auckland (April 5-6) and culminating in the ITU Grand Final (August 26-September 1).

Prepared and Issued On behalf of Triathlon Australian by:

Ian Hanson
Hanson Media Group

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