Triathlon Science

Joe Friel, MSc, has trained endurance athletes since 1980. He served as head coach of the U.S. national triathlon team at the world championships in 2000, and athletes he has worked with have appeared in the Olympic Games and world and national championships. He is cofounder of USA Triathlon’s National Coaching Association and served on the USA Triathlon Coaching Certification Committee. Friel is a Colorado state masters triathlon champion and a Rocky Mountain region and Southwest region duathlon age-group champion, and he has been a perennial USA Triathlon All-American duathlete. As a member of several national duathlon teams, Friel was a top 5 contender in world-class events and competed in road running and United States Cycling Federation races. He is the author of The Triathlete’s Training Bible, Your First Triathlon, Your Best Triathlon, Total Heart Rate Training, and The Paleo Diet for Athletes. He is a contributor to Precision Heart Rate Training and USA Triathlon’s Complete Triathlon Guide.

Jim Vance is a triathlon and duathlon, running, and cycling coach at TrainingBible Coaching and the founder and head coach of TriJuniors, a USAT high-performance team in San Diego. For his coaching, he was awarded the 2009 Tri Club of San Diego Coach of the Year and was appointed U.S. elite national team coach for the Duathlon World Championships in 2011 and 2012. He has coached athletes who have won or qualified for events, including the U.S. Elite National Championship, Elite ITU World Championship, Ironman World Championship, 70.3 World Championship, and XTERRA European Tour Elite. A former elite triathlete who spent time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Vance placed third in the Florida Ironman and was an International Triathlon Union age group world champion, an XTERRA amateur world champion, and a letter winner at the University of Nebraska in track and field and cross country.

Ildus I. Ahmetov is the head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at Kazan State Medical University. He also serves as a senior research fellow of the Sports Genetics Laboratory at the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Physical Culture and as a senior research fellow of the Laboratory of Exercise Physiology at the Institute for Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He won Young Investigators Awards in 2007 and 2010 for projects documenting genetic variants in athletes and is author of Molecular Sports Genetics.

Hunter Allen is a former professional cyclist, renowned coach, and expert in using power meters to train endurance athletes. As a professional racer for 17 years, he earned more than 40 career victories in competitions around the world. Upon retiring from racing, Allen became a USA Cycling elite-level cycling coach and certified nutrition consultant. He has coached more than 400 athletes, including the 2008 USA Cycling BMX Olympic team, champions of the European road racing circuit, and champion mountain bikers. He writes for Road magazine and Cycling Weekly, and he coauthored Training and Racing With a Power Meter and Cutting-Edge Cycling. Allen is the founder of Peaks Coaching Group and is a codeveloper of TrainingPeaks WKO software, a leading program for analyzing data from power meters.

Gale Bernhardt is a triathlon, cycling, and endurance coach. She served as the 2004 USA Triathlon Olympic coach for both the menn's and women's teams and was selected by USA Triathlon to serve as the 2003 Pan American Games men’s and women’s coach. She has served as a USA Triathlon World Cup coach for the International Triathlon Union (ITU) sport development squad and has worked internationally for the ITU as an expert World Cup coach. She has worked with Olympic athletes and winners of the USA Cycling Pro National Championship race. Bernhardt is author of five books for triathletes: Training Plans for Multisport Athletes, Triathlon Training Basics, Bicycling for Women, Training Plans for Cyclists, and Swim Workouts for Triathletes. She is also a contributor to The Woman Triathlete.

Jeff Broker, PhD, has been involved in the study of pedaling mechanics and optimal integration of rider and bicycle since 1987. He worked at the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as a senior sport biomechanist for nearly 10 years, through which he worked with the USA Triathlon and U.S. national cycling teams to optimize integration of rider and bicycle. He has worked with nine U.S. sports federations, including the U.S. Cycling Federation, USA Triathlon, and USA Track & Field. Broker is author of Bicycle Accidents: Biomechanics, Engineering, and Legal Aspects and is a contributor to High-Tech Cycling and International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Handbook of Sports Medicine: Road Cycling. He currently serves as an associate professor and chair of the biology department at the University of Colorado.

Professor Malcolm Collins leads a productive research group investigating the biological mechanisms of musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries and endurance performance. His research interests include genetic elements that determine the endurance phenotype and the interindividual physiological responses during participation in endurance events. He has published more than 70 papers in scientific journals and book chapters, several focused on Ironman triathletes. He serves as a professor in the Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) at the University of Cape Town.

JoAnn Dahlkoetter, PhD, is founder of Performing Edge Coaching International, a global resource and certification training program for sport psychology coaches. She is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and world-class athlete. She is a past winner of the San Francisco Marathon (2:43:20), placed second in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, and was rated the top triathlete in the United States by Triathlete magazine. She is the author of the best-selling book Your Performing Edge, and her work has been published in Runner’s World, Fitness magazine, Time, and Sports Illustrated. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and Triathlete magazine. Dr. Dahlkoetter has appeared as an expert guest on numerous shows, including Oprah and Friends, ABC Sports, and NBC Olympics. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and medical staff member at Stanford University Medical Center and maintains a full-time private practice. In her 30 years of clinical practice, Dr. Dahlkoetter has worked with five Olympic gold medalists and numerous Olympic and professional athletes. She continues to train and race in the San Francisco Bay Area.

George M. Dallam, PhD, a 30-year triathlete and coach, is the founding member of the National Coaching Commission of USA Triathlon and was USA Triiathlon's first national team coach. Throughout his coaching career, Dallam has served as a personal coach to several elite triathletes: Hunter Kemper, Amanda Stevens, Marcel Vifian, Callahan Hatfield, Michael Smedley, Ryan Bickerstaff, Nick Radkewich, Susan Williams, Laura Reback, Becky Lavelle, and Doug Friman. Athletes under his direction have won seven National Elite Championships, Pan American Games gold and silver medals, World Cup medals, and World and U.S. Age-Group Championships. They’ve also qualified for and been among the top American male finishers in three Olympic Games. In 2005, he was a finalist for the United States Olympic Committee’s esteemed “Doc” Counsilman Award for Science in Coaching. He was named USA Triathlon's Elite Coach of the Year in 2006. Dallam has been a professor of exercise science and health promotion at Colorado State University at Pueblo since 1997. As a sport scientist, he has authored and coauthored numerous scientific papers and books related to triathlon, including Championship Triathlon Training. He is a contributor to USA Triathlon’s Complete Triathlon Guide.

Matt Fitzgerald is a running and triathlon coach, sport nutritionist, and USA Triathlon All-American. He placed second overall in the 2004 Long Beach Triathlon and was an Ironman finisher. He has contributed to many triathlon publications, including Triathlete Magazine (for which he was the former senior editor), Triathlete, and Inside Triathlon. He has been featured on TrainingPeaks and Active.com. His many writing accomplishments include authoring Triathlete Magazine’s Complete Triathlon Book, Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide, Racing Weight, Iron War, Run: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel, and Brain Training for Runners. He coauthored Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon and The Runner's Edge.

Neal Henderson is a triathlon coach, sport science director at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, and a consultant to USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, and Specialized Bicycle Components. He has coached numerous elite triathletes, including Cameron Dye, Flora Duffy, Seth Wealing, and Jamie Whitmore, and has worked with cyclists Taylor Phinney and Roman Kreuziger. He was named USA Cycling National Coach of the Year in 2009 and USA Cycling Developmental Coach of the Year in 2007. He is a USA Triathlon level 3 elite coach and USA Cycling level 1 elite coach. He was a member of the USA Triathlon National Coaches Commission from 2003 to 2008. As a triathlon participant, he was a top American finisher at the International Triathlon Union Winter Triathlon World Championships in 2002 and 2003 and was first place amateur overall at XTERRA Keystone in 1999.

Nathan Koch is founder, director, and owner of Endurance Rehab LLC, the official training center for Joe Friel's Ultrafit. He is also an instructor of advanced bike fit classes at the Serotta International Cycling Institute. He writes regularly about sports injuries and recovery for Triathlete magazine and Lava magazine. Koch has provided sports medicine to NCAA Division I men's and women's athletics at Saint Louis University and the University of Nebraska, and he spent three seasons working for the St. Louis Rams and a sports medicine clinic (ProRehab) in St. Louis, where he worked with professional athletes. He has presented core strengthening for the endurance athlete to teams off elite medical professionals and has worked closely with them to provide the most technologically advanced sports medicine available.

Sean Langlais is a consultant for Biomechanics Engineering, where he examines the biomechanics of injuries, including those occurring during cycling. He recently had his article “Grip Pressure Distributions and Associated Variability in Golf: A Two-Club Comparison” published in the Journal of Biomechanics. After receiving his MSc in exercise science from the University of Colorado, Langlais worked with Carmichael Training Systems, where he helped train cyclists and triathletes in endurance. At CTS, he also served as the in-house bicycle mechanic. He has worked with USA Cycling as the team mechanic for the Junior National Mountain Bike skills camp.

Romuald Lepers is an assistant professor at the faculty of sport sciences in Dijon at Burgundy University in France. His research interests include exercise physiology, neuromuscular fatigue, and the effects of age and sex on endurance performances. He has published more than 70 articles, many on triathlon and endurance, in Journal of Sports Sciences, European Journal of Applied Physiology, and Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. He is a frequent triathlon participant, having completed 21 Ironman races, 4 of which were the Hawaii Ironman.

Bruce R. Mason is the head of the Aquatics Testing Training and Research Unit at the Australian Institute of Sport, where he provides biomechanical servicing to the Australian Institute of Sport swim team and Australian swim team. He was the chief biomechanical advisor to the Australian swim team from 1994 to 2002, for which he received the Order of Australia Medal and Australian Sports Medal from the Australian government. He also twice received awards for Outstanding Contribution to Swimming in Australia from the Australia Swim Coaches & Teachers Association. His research in swimming biomechanics has led him to present at ISBS and BMS international conferences. Mason has contributed to three books on swimming: The Swim Coaching Bible, World Book of Swimming, and Triathlon Into the Nineties.

Stephen J. McGregor, PhD, a former triathlete and elite competitive cyclist, coached endurance athletes for more than 15 years, advising numerous cyclists, triathletes, and runners at the national and international levels. He has been appointed as physiological advisor to both the 2008 U.S. Olympic BMX team and Eastern Michigan University men's cross country and distance track team. He has presented at numerous conferences, including USA Triathlon Art and Science of Coaching. He is a USA Cycling level I coach and is an instructor for the USA Cycling Level II Coaching Certification Sports Sciences, USA Cycling Power Training Certification Course, USA Cycling Level I (Elite) Coaching Certification Interval Training, and South African Coaching and Power Training Certification. He is the director of both the Applied Physiology Laboratory and the Human Factors-Dynamical Systems Laboratory at Eastern Michigan University. He is coauthor of The Runner's Edge.

David Pease is a senior biomechanist and the deputy head of discipline in the Aquatic Testing, Training, and Research Unit at the Australian Institute of Sport, where he conducts research on enhancing swimming performance and helps the swim program monitor athletes during training sessions. With more than 20 years of experience in swimming biomechanics, he has served as a biomechanist for USA Swimming and New Zealand Swimming. He has also worked with United States Swimming’s International Center for Aquatic Research (ICAR) and the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Science division. He was a competitive swimmer from the age of 6 through university level, when he swam for the University of Southern California.

John Post, MD, is the medical director at TrainingBible Coaching and an orthopedic surgeon at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a widely read medical and triathlon author and lecturer who presents nationally and runs his own endurance athlete blog. For more than 20 years, his focus has included surgical and nonsurgical knee and shoulder care in endurance athletes. A veteran triathlete, Post has finished the Hawaii Ironman six times in addition to participating in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and the English Channel Relay Swim.

Gina Sacilotto is a research assistant in the Aquatics Testing Training and Research Unit at the Australian Institute of Sport Aquatics, where she assists Bruce R. Mason in research for athletes and coaches to enhance performance. She is an open-water competitive swimmer. Through her research she has explored active drag in swimming, anthropometry in swimming, and the development of new aquatics biomechanical systems to enhance swimmers’ performance.

Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, is owner of Fuel4mance, a leading nutrition consulting firm serving amateur and elite athletes; Kids that TRI 501c3 youth triathlon team; and Performance Webinars, an educational webinar company. He is co-owner of Elite Multisport coaching. In 2008, Seebohar traveled to the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing as a sport dietitian for the U.S. Olympic team and as the personal sport dietitian and exercise physiologist for the Olympic triathlon team. He has worked closely with triathletes Susan Williams (2004 Olympic bronze medalist), Sarah Haskins, and Jasmine Oeinck (2009 national elite champion). He has also been appointed as a sport nutrition consultant for the USA Triathlon Olympic and developmental teams. Seebohar is a USA Triathlon elite level III coach and a frequent presenter for USA Triathlon coaching certification clinics. In 1996, he represented the United States as a member of the duathlon team at the World Championships. He has competed in numerous endurance events including the Boston Marathon and six Ironman races. He is author of eight books on endurance and nutrition, including Performance Nutrition: Applying the Science of Nutrient Timing and Nutrition Periodization for Athletes. He is a contributor to USA Triathlon’s Complete Triathlon Guide.

Dr. Ross Tucker is senior lecturer with the University of Cape Town's exercise science and sports medicine department where he has studied topics including fatigue and the role of the brain in determining pacing strategy and exercise performance. He serves as a sport scientist and strategist for the Springbok Sevens rugby team and has recently worked with kayakers Shaun Rubenstein and Mike Arthur in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics. He serves as the scientific editor of Runner’s World South Africa and as a contributor and editor to Health24, South Africa's largest fitness- and health-related website. He is a consultant techniccal expert and physiologist with Adidas South Africa and consults Discovery Health, Powerade, and Sports Illustrated. He has coauthored Runner's World Magazine’s The Runner's Body and participates regularly in 10k races and half-marathons.

David Warden is cofounder of PowerTri.com. He founded David Warden Coaching, where he coaches triathletes of all abilities. An internationally recognized triathlon coach and overall winner of 19 triathlon events, he is former vice president of the USA Triathlon Rocky Mountain Regional Council. He has more than 15 years of experience in endurance sports, having been named 2011 USA Triathlon Rocky Mountain Region sprint-distance champion and a three-time USA Triathlon All-American. He also produces the Tri Talk Triathlon Podcast, the leading multisport podcast on iTunes, and he has had articles published in Triathlete and Inside Triathlon magazines.

Randall L. Wilber is a senior sport physiologist at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He has worked with the U.S. national team in triathlon since 1993, has worked with every U.S. Olympic team in triathlon since 2000, has been named a member of the official U.S. Olympic team delegation in three Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics, and has provided support for the U.S. team at two Pan American Games. He has worked with many famous triathletes, including Hunter Kemper, Barbara Lindquist, Sheila Taormina, Nick Radkewich, Susan Williams, Laura Bennett, and Matt Charbot. His scientific papers have appeared in numerous journals. He is the author of two books, Altitude Training and Athletic Performance and Exercise-Induced Asthma: Pathophysiology and Treatment. He has been an invited speaker at several USA Triathlon coaching clinics as well as International Triathlon Union-sponsored conferences. Wilber is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and has served on the ACSM Olympic and Paralympic Sports Medicine Issues Committee since 2005. He was named chair of that committee in 2009.