Michelle
GallenYesterday's Heroes
On this page we will be featuring some of the Tridents legends from the past and giving them a bit of a forum for them to rehash their old stories and experiences. We have had an impressive history of national level and international level triathletes racing for the club over the years. Hopefully they have all kept in shape enough to be able to handle our famous set of fourteen "Back in Your Day" Questions.
So far we have cornered five of our legends:
| Michelle is a former elite swimmer who made a great
transition to triathlon.
Michelle at Edmonton Worlds in 2001 |
|
1. Tell us what you are currently up to and why you haven't been as active
in the Tri scene recently?
Just over three years ago I got offered a PhD candidature at
2. Back in your day when you were a bigger Tridents hero, what was the
jewel in the crown of your performance?
Racing elite in the Australian Triathlon Series – it was such a buzz to toe the
start line alongside some of my heroes in the sport like Emma Carney and Barb
Lindquist.
I never saw them after the swim but hey! it was great fun.
3. What do you look back on and wish you had done better (triathlon that
is)?
To be honest, I can’t think of anything.
Triathlon was a ‘second’ sport for me after swimming seriously for many
years, and I always approached it with a ‘no regrets’ attitude.
I am happy that I always did the best I could with the time available to
me and balancing sport with the rest of life.
Probably wish I had learned better bike skills earlier – would have saved
on medical costs!
4. What's your best triathlon experience?
The travel and the people.
Spending a large part of the US summer in Boulder with Rae (Rogers) in
2001 was a time I look back on as fantastic – living the lifestyle of a pro
athlete for even a short time and sharing it with a great friend.
More recently, Steve and I completing our first Ironman together was very
special.
It is the people that have always kept me in this sport and whether in
5. What's your worst triathlon experience?
The bike accidents!
Those who know me from old will chuckle – if there was a person going to
come down in the bunch / on a pothole / in a strong breeze / you name it, it was
me.
I have broken wrists, ribs, hands, tailbone, jaw, cheekbones, eyebrows…it was
ugly!
I used to lie on the ground after an accident and wonder what was broken
this time.
Thankfully my bike skills have improved since then.
Oh, and the worst race experience was a DNF in my first Ironman attempt
in
6. What's the most legendary training day or session you've ever done?
That’s a tough one, I was never into the mega-mileage that many around me used
to thrive on…I do remember one training camp up at Jindabyne with only Thomo,
Rae, Stu Shaw and I – I was outclassed and sooky!
Day two Benny made me get in the van to get back to camp and I lost it
coz I wanted to keep riding, but I knew I was an hour behind the others and it
was a headwind the whole way back…I did love those camps though and the best day
at one of them was Jindabyne – Dead Horse Gap – back to Cooma – fell asleep on
the back of a motorbike getting a lift home!
7. Who's your triathlon hero and why?
Sam Robinson and a girl from
8. If money and/or fitness was no object, what race would you love to go
and do or have done?
All of them!
I love travelling and triathlon is a great excuse to really see a place.
I am sure there will be a few more overseas races in the future – I would
love to do a couple of the European Ironman courses in particular like
9. If money or fitness were no object, where would be your favourite place
to set up a training base/camp?
Boulder Colorado May–September,
10. Is the Hawaii Ironman, or Ironman in general all its cracked up to be?
I can’t really say about
11. There's a bit of a legend that Coach use to crack the shits big time
any good stories worth sharing?
Poor Coach – not all stories about him are when he was wearing his cranky-pants!
I am pretty non-confrontational so used to keep a low profile when there
was a storm brewing.
Besides I was so stubborn I think Coach knew yelling at me would be a
waste of breath.
Benny famously didn’t crack the shits with me one season when I decided
that I was going to make a come-back to open water swimming.
He put on different sessions for me for months and then rode his
motorcycle all the way to some end-of-the-earth place in
12. What’s your worst triathlon related travel story?
One of the hardest places to access that I ever went to race was
13. Who would you really like to beat in a race, or like to have beaten
when you were racing?
Ah, there was this one girl who
shall remain nameless – she used to train with us sometimes over summer (and was
well-known for spectacular
dummy-spits) and in my first draft-legal race I ended up in a small pack
including her on the bike. With one and
half laps to go, she saw the lead bunch catching us and sat up and said ‘oh
well, we’re going to be lapped’. I had
some strong words to her but had to do all the work for the rest of the ride to
stop us being lapped. We got off the bike
and of course she put 8 minutes into me on the run…to finish in the money!
Grrrrrrr!!! Would have loved the
opportunity to reverse that…
14. Any tips for the newbie's?
Listen to Coach when he tells you
to work on your bike skills. If it is
cold, wet and you are tired from late nights at work / getting up to feed the
baby / just life, NO you don’t have to get up and train.
Enjoy the journey! coz success might mean a different thing when you get
there…
Anthony Evans
(added 08/08/2006)
| Anthony is a 4 time Winter Olympian in cross-country
skiing, and basically a V12 Ferrari engine strapped to a pair of legs.
That’s Anthony in the middle (not doing triathlon) |
|
1. Tell us what you are currently up to and why you haven't been as active
in the Tri scene recently?
We shifted to Jindabyne last October – a job came up and it just seemed like a
good idea. We decided that we liked
2. Back in your day when you were a bigger Tridents hero, what was the
jewel in the crown of your performance?
I don’t have any ‘crown jewels’. But seriously, when I was with Tridents I
wanted to do IM, and I was satisfied with the result. But my reason for training
with Tridents was more to train with a group of top athletes. As a Cross Country
skier, there were few fellow athletes or coaches around, so much of what I did I
had to do alone. To hook up with Tridents and get advice from the Super Coach
was a heap of fun, and something I hadn’t experienced much of in the past.
3. What do you look back on and wish you had done better (triathlon that
is)?
The bloody swim, of course. There is no other explanation, swimming just sucks.
4. What's your best triathlon experience?
Don’t know – probably the obvious one – finally getting to stop after that
tortuous 42k third leg.
5. What's your worst triathlon experience?
2 k’s into the run at Forster (IM) 2 years ago my back seized. I just stood
there like I had a stick up my bum, thinking that my race (as well as my
training and preparation over the last 6 months) was over. Lucky there were no
Tridents snooping around because I was probably in tears and it isn’t something
I would have lived down in a hurry! My wife could see me from a distance and was
wondering what the hell I was doing. I spent a few minutes stretching (or really
just hanging over someones front fence) and finally the spasm let go. The next
couple of k’s I did at about walking pace and then I got into my rhythm.
6. What's the most legendary training day or session you've ever done?
Probably skiing from Kiandra to Perisher in a day. It is 85km (if you don’t
stuff up) and there is an unofficial record of about 6 hours, so I took it on.
Unfortunately, being able to ski fast was only part of the equation. Navigation
also comes into it, and I’m a bit shaky on that. I got lost several times, ran
out of food and water and had to catch the chairlift to get over the last hill
into Perisher (don’t think that was in the rules – I haven’t actually told
anyone about that until now, so I feel a bit like Mr Landis). Think I got there
in about 8 hours.
………another time I was holidaying in the
7. Who's your triathlon hero and why?
I don’t have a triathlon hero, however I have the upmost respect for elite
athletes who are also just ‘good blokes’ (or ‘gals). There are just too many top
athletes around who are so full of their own ego. To quote Andre Agassi: “…some
athletes need to take their prize money and go buy themselves some
perspective..” (of course, he was referring to a particular althlete –
Kafelnikov, I think). Tridents is extremely fortunate to have an athlete who is
both ‘super elite’ and a good bloke.
8. If money and/or fitness was no object, what race would you love to go
and do or have done?
Having been bitten by the IM ‘bug’, Kona is probably the only answer here, but
doing it well would be a priotity. Pretty unlikely, I’d say, but isn’t this a
question where we can fantasise? There is also a ski race across
9. If money or fitness were no object, where would be your favourite place
to set up a training base/camp?
Would have to be the Alps in
10. Is the Hawaii Ironman, or Ironman in general all its cracked up to be?
I haven’t done
11. There's a bit of a legend that Coach use to crack the shits big time
any good stories worth sharing?
What’s this “…used to crack the shits…”? I thought he still did! I have this
‘anti-tapering’ theory, where the week or 2 before a big race I would like to go
out and smash myself. I learnt the hard way not to suggest things like that to
Coach, as you will be told without ambiguity that he thinks it isn’t a good
idea. If there are people around, they will also hear (loud and clear) that he
thinks it isn’t a good idea and that you are an idiot (or worse).
12. What’s your worst triathlon related travel story?
Haven’t done enough of them to have one of these.
13. Who would you really like to beat in a race, or like to have beaten
when you were racing?
Thomo – because he is completely overrated. No really, if I could beat him, then
I’d be climbing onto podiums everywhere and at all levels of the sport and isn’t
that what every punter who has an imagination dreams about.
14. Any tips for the newbie's?
Gee, another hard question. Stick
at it. Success in sport doesn’t come easily, especially in endurance sports like
XC skiing and triathlon. Sometimes it’s the late developers who can develop the
furthest in the end. Secondly, look around and learn from others (particularly
in a great squad like Tridents). It’s better to learn from other peoples
mistakes than your own.
I thought there
were supposed to be 15 questions. Memo to Coach – learn to count.
Big Dog (Adrian Craft)
(added 08/08/2006)
| Adrian (aka Big Dog), is one of our most decorated
performers at the after race party. He is from an era where it was ok to
race Ironman in your speedos, and then more than ok to get nude on the
dance floor afterwards.
The picture is of Adrian cresting the Col de Vence in Nice, France, at the 2000 World Long Course Champs. |
 |
1. Tell us what you are currently up to and why you haven't been as active
in the Tri scene recently?
I made a transition (only triathlon thing I can still do) from an 83kg IM
triathlete to a 110kg shot putter. I lost the desire to put in the hours I
thought were necessary to do any good in triathlons so I moved on to track
cycling and then powerlifting/shot putting. Prior to tris I was a Rugby player
so the transition (that word again) wasn’t too hard, and putting on weight is
fun! I won the ACT Open Shot Put title last season as well as the National
Masters champs for my age. The rest of my world revolves around my darling wife
Mell and an 8 month old jolly little fat man named Owen. I still like to go down
and watch the occasional tri, but I’m not active in the scene any more as I
couldn’t run out of sight on a dark night.
2. Back in your day when you were a bigger Tridents hero, what was the
jewel in the crown of your performance?
The jewels in the crown would have to be a top 3 finish in the Nudie Gift at
both Thomo’s 21st and Wayno’s Duffy St. BBQ. Proper competition wise (and nude
running was a fiercely contested sub-sport in the late 90s) I would have to say
that winning a couple of age group titles in the ACT, as well as getting the
chance to compete on the world stage in Europe and the US are special things I
remember. Special mention must also go to toppling cycling legend Stuart
Bardsley in a nude lap of the velodrome of the Jindabyne Sports and Rec facility
on the bike camp in 1999.
3. What do you look back on and wish you had done better (triathlon that
is)?
I wished I was a better swimmer. 23 years of Rugby prior to tris left me
with possibly the world’s most inflexible shoulders. That didn’t help my
swimming much.
4. What's your best triathlon experience?
My best tri experience was probably my last Australian IM. The race wasn’t
the best, but I tapered very well for the post-match function. Bards’
‘helicopter’ on the packed dance floor of the Forster RSL (I only said shirts
off mate) was the thing of legends.
5. What's your worst triathlon experience?
Worst triathlon experience was probably the 2001 South African IM triathlon.
Smithy and I prepared well, traveled well, looked the goods but unfortunately
both came home unhappy. After 10km of the run I had absolutely nothing left, and
walked the rest of the marathon. The wind was so strong I got blown over twice,
and the later aid stations were deserted. The run was an out and back, so I had
no choice but to walk home. We did get to call Spencer Smith a poof at the
post-match function though.
6. What's the most legendary training day or session you've ever done?
The most legendary training day started with a sleep over at Scotty
Preston’s at Isabella Plains. I set my alarm for 0500 but Scotty’s favourite
trick was to set the alarm on his stereo for 0455 and have the Hoodoo Gurus
Greatest Hits CD on full bore. He’d then set his alarm for 0454 and sneak into
the loungeroom (where I was asleep next to the stereo) and watch the fun. He
caught me 3 times with this. Once I’d peeled myself from the roof we then met up
with Pete Taylor, JB, Wayno, Pete Townley and someone else (can’t remember who)
and rode to Tharwa and back. That was the start. Once we got back to Scotty’s
house we then continued on to Cooma and return. Total for the day, over 230km.
Pete Townley ended up collecting me from the side of the road just outside the
ACT after he’d been given a lift back to Canberra by a motocross team because he
looked so haggard on the bike. Everyone blew up that day, even Pete Taylor. We
then got to swimming in the afternoon feeling completely dead and did the end of
swim phase mystery session, where we pulled our workouts out of an envelope. My
lane scored 100x100m. Once we swam all the way through to the start of 2nd squad
Ben said that if we wanted to finish the 10km off we could do so in amongst the
2nd squad. He then didn’t let us out until the end of 2nd squad so the day
totaled 230km on the bike and nearly 15km in the pool. To top it off we all went
out on one of our ‘bad’ nights at PJ O’Reilly’s, got drunk, and Terra ended up
in hospital with dehydration……again!
7. Who's your triathlon hero and why?
My triathlon heroes aren’t the big names or the legends of the sport, but
people who get out and have a go. When I watched the Ironman in 1998 I admit I
did get a little choked up to see both Scotty and Chalks go sooo close to the
top 10, and Stewy Shaw coming so close to breaking 9hrs. I admire Smithy for his
endurance in the sport, and just admired Michelle Dillon (well what male
didn’t?)
8. If money and/or fitness was no object, what race would you love to go
and do or have done?
I guess everyone says Hawaii, and I would have to agree with that, but I got
to do a lot of races both here and overseas so in that regard I’m pretty
satisfied.
9. If money or fitness were no object, where would be your favourite place
to set up a training base/camp?
I would love to set up a training camp in Maui, Hawaii. Absolutely idyllic
place with plenty to do when not training or racing. I love golf and Hawaii is
right up there for courses. OK Maui for during the week but we’d shift to Vegas
for the weekend…..gentlemen shuffle up and deal!
10. Is the Hawaii Ironman, or Ironman in general all its cracked up to be?
I’ve always had slightly different views on IM. I never really put in a
decent go at one, but finished 6 and DNF’ed one. I think anyone can do an IM.
All it takes is time to train, a bit of training direction, and a bit of
persistence. However to race the IM is a different story. There’s nothing worse
than watching an IM race plan crumble before your eyes. Nothing worse than
knowing you were easily sitting on a 5.15 bike split pace and then inexplicably
blowing up. Don’t get me wrong, IM is a great achievement, as such a small
percentage of the population ever gets to complete one, but sometimes it’s
overrated. The Aussie IM is a great week and a great party to finish
though….don’t get me wrong. Hawaii can be full of crankers.
11. There's a bit of a legend that Coach use to crack the shits big time
any good stories worth sharing?
I have to share JB’s story about the Clayton dummy spit. Scotty and Wayno
were also kicked out of training one night before they hit the water after Benny
detected the ‘sherbets’ they had at lunch time (and continued until just before
they got to training). I’ve never known a man to get the word f*ck into so many
inspirational speeches! I also wasn’t popular one night after getting out of the
pool for about my 4th of 5th toilet break then admitting to Benny that I didn’t
need a squirt, I was just buggered. He just pointed back at the pool.
12. What’s your worst triathlon related travel story?
In 2000 Chalks and I caught a bus from Thomo’s pro team city in France
(Aix-en-Provence) to Nice for the World Long Course Champs in which Chalks won
his age group and embarrassed a lot of pros. I assured Chalks that I had read a
map and that our hotel was not far from the bus station……wrong! Chalks and I
dragged our 2 bike boxes and suitcases through the narrow streets of Nice for 3
hours until we told a cab driver that we didn’t give a f*ck if he thought our
bags wouldn’t fit in the cab, we would fit them in; and did. There wasn’t much
said between Chalks and I for a few hours after arrival. Watch a Swedish luggage
handler throw my bike box onto a plane in Stockholm in 1999 wasn’t the most
pleasant experience either.
13. Who would you really like to beat in a race, or like to have beaten
when you were racing?
I always hankered a desire to beat Scotty Preston in a race. He conveniently
forgets I beat him in an Aquathlon in about 1996. Trouble with this desire is in
reality I had no hope. Even if I was close enough in the swim it would have been
bye byes on the bike. Mind you, after years of trash talk Scotty and I stepped
into the boxing ring for the sake of the Quon boys in 2004. The result…well
you’ll have to ask him but put it this way, someone was looking at the roof of
the AIS Boxing arena 10 secs into round 5 and it wasn’t me.
14. Any tips for the newbie's?
I suppose the tips I could give the newbies is always try to improve
yourself physically and mentally in the sport, but understand your own strengths
and weaknesses. Don’t plan on riding a 5hr bike split at IM when you just can’t.
An easy 5.30 split and a great run will easily make up for the slower ride. And
most of all don’t be intimidated by the ‘show and shine’ of triathlon. There are
plenty of expensive bikes out there being ridden by pretty hopeless riders. In
an IM just worry about yourself and your own performance. Unless you’re looking
at a top 10 finish the day is all about you, not everyone else. The last thing I
would say is listen to what Benny has to say. God knows he turned a bunch of
party loving and slightly talented individuals into a squad that dominated
triathlons around these parts for quite a while. It’s not about the destination,
it’s about the journey. I will always remember my time with Tridents as no-one
thinking they were better than someone else. We all ate, slept and drank tris
together as a team. It was a great ride.
Raeleigh Rogers (nee Tennant)
(added 30/07/2006)
Rae is our best performed female Triathlete over the years, with numerous top 10 finishes in the Australian Ironman Championships, in international Ironman races, and also in international X-Terra races. She is also a multiple winner of the ACT Triathlete Of The Year award.
1. Tell us what you are currently up to and why you haven't been as active
in the Tri scene recently?
No Secrets here! My good excuse for not getting up and riding in the cold is
about a foot and a half tall and calls me Mummy!
2. Back in your day when you were a bigger Tridents hero, what was the
jewel in the crown of your performance?
Ironman Australia 4th place in 9:38.
3. What do you look back on and wish you had done better (triathlon that
is)?
RUN!!!! And recovery.
4. What's your best triathlon experience?
Oooooh! A tough one...... I think the whole Xterra thing. The people, the
challenge, the places and the races were the best!
5. What's your worst triathlon experience?
Another tough one! There's been a couple of times I'd rather forget.
Probably World long course Champs in Japan where I had my first ever DNF after
an allergic reaction to stingers in the water.
6. What's the most legendary training day or session you've ever done?
I always think of those days training with Steph for our first IM and doing
the Sutton, Gundaroo, Yass loop on the bike, get home have something to eat and
zoom to the pool for a quiet 6km session! The longest single ride I ever did was
in California and it was 260km. Ouch! The thought of doing that in a car now is
not pleasant!
7. Who's your triathlon hero and why?
Greg Welch, A good all rounder, good at sprint and IM. Plus he's a really
nice bloke!
8. If money and/or fitness was no object, what race would you love to go
and do or have done?
I always wish I had done Roth IM, maybe one day I'll watch it instead!
9. If money or fitness were no object, where would be your favourite place
to set up a training base/camp?
Boulder Colorado for our winter, then back home after the Maggies have
stopped swooping! Canberra is awesome.
10. Is the Hawaii Ironman, or Ironman in general all its cracked up to be?
The feeling of finishing an IM is unbelievable, IM Australia has the best
atmosphere of any I have done. I was a bit disappointed with Hawaii the year I
did it, Aussie IM looked after the athletes better and was more organised but I
hear things have changed with the new management in Hawaii so that's great. It
should be THE pinnacle of IM experiences.
11. There's a bit of a legend that Coach use to crack the shits big time
any good stories worth sharing?
Again a toughie..... so many to choose!!! Ha! I do remember very early in
the Trident's life, Coach throwing a fast and furious kickboard at someone's
head for not paying attention to the instructions. Sound familiar..........
12. What’s your worst triathlon related travel story?
Travelling in the US after September 11 was a challenge as you would expect
but one experience I had was over the top. My luggage and bike box (with both
MTB and Roadie) were totally pulled apart and unpacked at Orange County Airport
in California, by the biggest butchest security guard I've ever seen. The cow
would not let me assist and almost broke my forks while tearing at my bike as
they were clamped into the box. Anyway about 300 other passengers were watching
and waiting for their turn to go through security and got to check out my
underwear and bike bits spread across the floor. I had to cause quite a scene
before reinforcements were called in, and finally the boss came and fixed the
situation, though I almost missed my flight to Maui. It was pretty yucky!
13. Who would you really like to beat in a race, or like to have beaten
when you were racing?
Anyone who was tackled up on drugs!!!
14. Any tips for the newbie's?
Try not to get bogged down by the tough times, remember that if your having
a bad day or a bad time (in a race) to keep going as there will always be a good
time just in front of you! And number one....... Have fun!!!! If it's not fun
it's not worth doing it!
John Boxall
(added 30/07/2006)
John Boxall (also known as Bon Joxall), arguably the strongest swimmer and toughest trainer the Tridents have ever had.
1. Tell us what you are currently up to and why you haven't been as active
in the Tri scene recently?
Raising a baby, concentrating on extending my waist line by eating fine food
and good wine, and of course Fly Fishing.
2. Back in your day when you were a bigger Tridents hero, what was the
jewel in the crown of your performance?
Winning the 30-34yr age group at the Australian Ironman.
3. What do you look back on and wish you had done better (triathlon that
is)?
Hawaii Ironman, I regret not beating Paul Smith.
4. What's your best triathlon experience?
Beating Simon Thompson to win the ACT Sprint Champs.
5. What's your worst triathlon experience?
Foster Australian Ironman, after leading 90k's into the bike and then
getting off the bike and not continuing the race.
6. What's the most legendary training day or session you've ever done?
Probably the toughest training session was a regular Wednesday session which
included 130kms on the bike (included big gear up Corin) before work followed by
an afternoon track session of 24x1kms.
7. Who's your triathlon hero and why?
Dave Scott his record speaks for it self .
8. If money and/or fitness was no object, what race would you love to go
and do or have done?
Hawaii Ironman, it is the pinnacle of Triathlon.
9. If money or fitness were no object, where would be your favourite place
to set up a training base/camp?
Canberra is a great training base, roads are well maintained and we have
heaps of open parkland and trails to run on. I guess my preference would be
Canberra and Jindabyne.
10. Is the Hawaii Ironman, or Ironman in general all its cracked up to be?
Hawaii, is it all and some, even just being a spectator is awesome.
11. There's a bit of a legend that Coach use to crack the shits big time
any good stories worth sharing?
Probably the one that stands out for me is one Saturday afternoon swimming
session after a long group ride in the morning, Clayton Clews showed up late and
there were a few colourful words spoken by the coach and Clayton didn't take it
on the chin. He wanted to stand there and have it out with the coach. It was
probably the quietest Saturday afternoon swimming session I've been to, no one
was game to say a word.
12. What’s your worst triathlon related travel story?
Travelling to Kona for the Hawaii Ironman and having to spend 8 hours, in
the middle of the night outside Honolulu Airport, listening to Alison Coote
rabbit on and on.
13. Who would you really like to beat in a race, or like to have beaten
when you were racing?
John Van Wisse in the swim leg of Ironman, I missed getting $500 twice
because of him.
14. Any tips for the newbie's?
Don’t forget what's important.
