Lance Watson - coach of Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield | EP#453

Lance Watson has one of the most extensive resumes in triathlon coaching. He was the coach of Simon Whitfield who won the first ever Olympic gold medal in triathlon in Sydney 2000, has coached at multiple Olympic Games, was the coach of Ironman World Champion Peter Reid, and Ironman World Championship podium finishers Lisa Bentley and Chris Lieto. In this episode, we dig deep into his coaching methodology, discussing training principles, tactical and mental preparation, and more.

 

HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS: 

• Lance's coaching methodology, including a description of his task progression oriented approach
• His work with Simon Whitfield leading into the Sydney Olympics, including an example training week
• Considerations for Simon's "mixed phenotype" - Simon being a fantastic middle distance runner
• The tactical and mental preparation done that contributed to the Olympic success
• How Lance approaches training for long distance triathlon, exemplified by athletes like Lisa Bentley, Chris Lieto and Brent McMahon
• The different considerations for age-group athletes looking for their best performance within the constraints of family, work and life
• Tips for age-group athletes to improve their swimming, biking and running

 

DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES: 

• We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. Naturally, as great as they are, they do not cover absolutely everything in as great detail as we can do in a 45-90 minute podcast episode. 
• The shownotes for today's episode can be found at www.scientifictriathlon.com/tts453/

 

LINKS AND RESOURCES: 

• LifeSport Coaching (Lance's coaching business): website and Instagram
• The day Simon Whitfield made Canadian Olympic history - 5-minute Youtube video by CBC Sports

 

WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT?

If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes: 

• World Champions keep things simple: training masterclass with Joel Filliol | EP#172
• Dan Lorang – coach of Jan Frodeno, Anne Haug and Bora Hansgrohe pro cycling team | EP#175

You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc.

You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes. 
 

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• Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. 

 

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