Triathlon Australia’s world wide search to replace Craig Walton

Posted in Other News

Triathlon Australia, January 16, 2014: TRIATHLON AUSTRALIA will use its vast network to embark on an extensive international search to fill the new coach of its National Performance Centre on the Gold Coast following today’s announcement that Olympic coach Craig Walton will take an extended break from coaching.

Walton, 38, had been ear-marked for the high profile role until he informed Triathlon Australia of his decision to leave coaching to pursue a business opportunity on the Sunshine Coast.

Craig-Walton-triathlon-australia

Triathlon Australia has spent some time working with the well-credentialed Sydney 2000 Olympian-turned highly respected Elite level coach to entice him stay on to steer one of their four new National Performance Centres to be rolled out throughout 2014.

The Gold Coast, a haven for some of Australia’s greatest triathletes, will remain a key daily performance environment for the national program as Triathlon Australia continues its push to remain at the forefront of the sport world wide.

Walton however will not be lost to the sport with National Performance Director Bernard Savage acting swiftly to keep him on contract until the end of the Australian domestic season and to also keep him on the Triathlon Australia books as a mentor coach.

“We worked as hard as we could to try and keep Craig, particularly with our new role for him to take charge of the National Performance Centre and the continuing role in our highly successful National Talent Academy,” said Savage.

“Triathlon offered him a package commensurate with his credentials as an Olympic gold medal winning coach, but there are other considerations for him now with the security and future of his family and this other offer he has received provides that for him.

“There is never a perfect time for these things to happen and Craig has made up his mind and it’s a decision which we respect and we wish him all the best.

“We want to keep Craig in the sport anyway we can and then facilitate his return to coaching fraternity when he is able to do so but one door closes and another one will open for another elite coach.

“Triathlon Australia is committed to having a National Performance Centre on the Gold Coast, running out of Pizzey Park and we will be doing our best to recruit the highest quality coach we can to replace Craig and for us that will mean doing an international search.”

Walton told Triathlon Australia he had been looking at a business opportunity for the past couple of years but it hadn’t really come to fruition until the last couple of months.

Craig-Walton-with-NTA-squad

“It was something financially moving forward that I could not overlook. It’s an opportunity I feel like I have to pursue to move forward in the best interests of my family,” said Walton, whose partner is expecting the couple’s first child.

“At the end of the day it was too good to pass by. The thing that made my mind up was the fact that this is an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day of the week.

“Coaching is something I can rebuild again in the future. I can always come back to coaching where as I couldn’t do it the other way around - if I passed this up it may never come around again.

“I love my job in triathlon and that was the hardest thing. I’ve got a great job. It’s a great lifestyle as well as a job and I have enjoyed working with Bernard Savage - that’s made it super hard. In fact it was the hardest decision I have ever made in my life.”

The good thing is that Walton’s decision will not be immediate. He will stay on and work with his athletes, including Commonwealth Games hopeful Ashleigh Gentle through until after the Games selection process is concluded in mid to late April and will also be offered a mentoring role to work with the coaches moving forward.

“We need to maintain access to Craig’s knowledge and experience the best way we can,” said Savage.

“Triathlon may have lost Craig from a day to day, hands on coaching role but we will be looking to maintain a relationship with him in some kind of role to mentor one or two identified coaches who are in our High Performance pathway who we think can benefit from having a coach like Craig to act as a sounding board to speak to.”

The highly respected Walton, who coached Emma Snowsill to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, told his squad of athletes yesterday of his decision.

“I’m glad I can stay on for the next three months. My biggest priority as the moment is getting Ashleigh Gentle onto the team for Glasgow,” said Walton.

“It will be good to give the athletes some time over the next couple of months to absorb what’s going on and to ease my way out rather than cut it off harshly.

“Ashleigh has come a long way and she’s still got a long way to go. You’ve always got your little projects in coaching and you’ve always got athletes that excel and then there’s the rest that are pushing through in behind them.

“The hardest thing is you put so much work in with these guys. Coaching is never an overnight success. It takes years and years to get these athletes to the top. We have got some great developing athletes coming through, such as Calvin Quirk and Kelly-Anne Perkins, who was another project of mine as well.

“Again that makes the decision twice as hard. The amount of work you put in – the amount of satisfaction you get when you see these athletes coming along on the stepping stones and then you walk away from it and that makes the decision to leave harder and harder again.

“I have made the decision and I’ve got to commit to it. It was really hard to tell the athletes. You feel like you are letting the athletes down.

“You build a relationship with your athletes, a professional relationship and a personal relationship and they rely on their coaches and me to get them somewhere in their sporting careers so the hardest thing is that you think you are letting the athletes down and there is no other way to put it.

“But some things you learn as an athlete, like having to be selfish and with a baby on the way they are things you have to consider. Putting all those things together brought my decision about.”

Triathlon Australia’s new National Coaching Development Manager, to be appointed in the coming months, will work with Savage to find the best possible replacement for Walton and also facilitate some on-going involvement in the sport in a coach mentor role.

Whoever takes on the role will have access to world class facilities in an ideal training environment.

“The facilities that are available on the Gold Coast through the AIS training centre, the fact that the Gold Coast is such a great training environment; the program here will be supported by Triathlon Australia and the coach will be adopting a group of athletes that are on a positive and upward journey,” Savage said.

“We have Denis Cotterell’s Swim Squad next door; there are first class recovery, strength and conditioning facilities; Physio and massage through the AIS plus the variety of riding and running trails that the Gold Coast provides that makes it one of best training environments in the country.”

INTERVIEWS/PHOTO OPS: Craig Walton, Bernard Savage and Ashleigh Gentle will all be available for interview Thursday, January 16, 2014.

Please contact:
Ian Hanson

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