ON the back of his recent form and continued improvement, it’s no surprise that Vincentia’s Troy Whittington has established himself one of the region’s top triathlon prospects.
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Most recently, the 17-year-old placed sixth in the seniors section of the New South Wales All-School competition held at the Penrith Regatta Centre – a result that was strong enough to secure him a spot at the upcoming Australian All-Schools.
“I was pretty happy with my swim, coming out of the water mid-pack in about 14th position, as this is easily the weakest of my three legs,” Whittington said.
“During the bike leg, I moved up six positions, putting myself in a strong position heading into the final leg.
“With the run easily being my strongest leg, I managed to move up another couple of positions to finish sixth overall, which I was stoked about.
“It’s the best placing so far in my career but I’m determined to push on and achieve more moving forward.”
Whittington, in Year 12 at Vincentia High School, will now ramp up training before heading back to the Penrith Regatta Centre from April 17-21 for the nationals, to compete in the sprint distance event (750m swim, 20km ride and 5km).
“I will do more high intensity work, as well as trying to strengthen my swim leg before heading back to Penrith,” he said.
“I’m heading there with an open mind and with no expectations, as I’ll be happy just getting out there and competing against the top athletes my age in the country.”
Hailing from an athletics background, Whittington has only been doing triathlons since Year 7, when a teacher at his old school, Warilla High, encouraged him to have a go at it.
Since then, he fell in love with the sport and now has big dreams for the future.
“I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can and see where the sport can take me,” he said.
“At the moment I’m training six or seven times a week, which include up to two sessions a day.
“That can include a swim in the morning and/or a ride and run in the afternoon – it all depends on what events I have coming up.
“Next year, once I finish school, I hope to go over to Germany and train for six months with my good mate Matt Lewis and experience how they do things differently over there.
“Hopefully that can continue my growth in the sport, as one day I’d love to start regular training with the Wollongong Wizards and represent Australia in the sport of triathlon – which is my ultimate dream down the road.”