M E D I A R E L E A S E

Tebeck Prepares for World Championship Rematch

June 22, 2012, South Australia: 18 year old triathlete Sam Tebeck of Williamstown isn’t leaving anything to chance in his preparation for the World Triathlon Championship in New Zealand in October. In his first full-season of triathlon, Tebeck competed in national level events in Geelong and Sydney. Tebeck’s results at those events qualified him for the Australian team to compete at the World Championship event, and provided him with invaluable national level competition experience. “One thing I noticed last season was the difference between the South Australian level and the Eastern states”, he said.“The competition at the pointy end of the field was pretty fierce”.

Tebeck isn’t deterred by the competition.“Racing against the interstate athletes has been very motivating. I am really looking forward to racing against them again in New Zealand”, he said.“One of the positive outcomes from racing at the national level events is that it has helped us to identify exactly what areas we need to work on over Winter – and we are already working on those”.“Our training is more challenging than it was compared to Winter last year now that I have a year of training under my belt”. “By the time we get to New Zealand in October we will be able to approach our race plan a little differently”, he said.“My coach and I have a pretty good idea of who the competition is going to be in New Zealand”.“The Australian athletes will be up there”.

Tebeck and fellow Fuse Multisport Racing Team athletes Ella Holmes and Ben Tripodi, who have also qualified for the Australian team, are undertaking a rigorous preparation schedule for the World Championships event on 22 October. Coach Steve O’Brien said that the next few months would be important. “July is the biggest training month for the team in terms of volume”, he said. “But, Ella, Ben and Sam work very well together”. “They are all very focused”, he said.

Fuse Multisport Racing Team is sponsored by Champion System, Brooks Running, Science in Sport (Australia), Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and supported by Dancorp Serviced Offices.

M E D I A R E L E A S E

Tripodi on Track for Success

June 2, 2012:  South Australian triathlete Ben Tripodi admits that last season was tough going for him. Not that Tripodi had a bad season. Far from it. The 19 year old former competitive swimmer achieved outstanding results in national level events and qualified for the Australian Olympic Distance Age Group Team.

But, achieving outstanding results wasn’t enough for Tripodi.  

“Last season, things started off ok for me in November, but after the Canberra 70.3 and Olympic distance events I felt pretty flat” Tripodi said. “I struggled for motivation and that ended-up with me not enjoying training as much”, he said. “I felt like I was just going through the motions”.

That was 6 months ago. 

Ben now trains under coach Steve O’Brien as a part of the Fuse Multisport Racing Team – a team that includes 2009 U19 World AG Champion Ella Holmes, and Australian U19 AG Duathlon Long Course Champion Sam Tebeck. “Training under Steve with Sam and Ella has made a real difference to my approach and motivation”, Tripodi said. “The team sets a very high standard, not just in training but in every aspect of our preparation”, he said. “It took me a while to adapt to the team’s approach, I found the first few months pretty hard going, but after a break though session in February, things are moving in a different direction now.”

“Our training is very focused – a large part of our training is aimed at developing our mental approach. Steve is very big on setting individual objectives and then building each of our training schedules around those.  So although we all train together, each of us will be working on a different aspect of our preparation at any one time. But, it’s great having Sam and Ella to benchmark myself against – we all work well together.  We’re all preparing for the Olympic Distance World Championships in New Zealand in October, which makes for a pretty competitive training environment.”

Coach Steve O’Brien is expecting big things from Tripodi next season.  “Ben has redefined his upper limits and has a lot more self-belief in his abilities now.  His running will be a real weapon next season - he will surprise a few people with the extent of his improvement”.

Tripodi and O’Brien have already settled on Ben’s race schedule for next season.  “Ben's immediate objective is the World Championships”, O’Brien said. “After than Ben will be targeting a number of 70.3 events and a triathlon series in Melbourne”.