United States
Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Japan
Emma Snowsill
Profession: Professional Triathlete |
Athlete BioEmma Snowsill is recognized as the highest award winning woman in ITU Triathlon History. An Olympic, Commonwealth and triple World Champion, Emma has won the ITU World Cup 12 times and graced the podium a cool 23 times. Dabbling in sports such as swimming, tennis, basketball, ballet and skiing throughout her childhood, Emma had her first foray into the world of triathlons at the age of 16 and from then on, she was hooked. Emma’s rise to the top of her sport was meteoric, winning her first National Age Title in 2000 and following it up soon after with a win at the World Champs in Perth. In 2001 Emma claimed gold at the Sydney Youth Olympic Festival, and the following year started racing on the open elite circuit in Europe and Asia. Competing predominately in World Championship Series, Emma enjoys competing and travelling in triathlons worldwide. Her sensational performance, bubbly personality and down-‐to-‐earth attitude at the 2008 Beijing Olympics made Emma a household name, and she represents the bright and exciting future of Australia’s Olympic champions. After an injury and illness plagued 2009 season Emma is back on ITU world tour and finished 2010 with a superior win at the Grand Final in Budapest. In 2011 her focus will be on the qualification for the 2012 Olympics and to win the World Championship title. 2012 will be the year in which she will try to become the first athlete to defend the Olympic Gold Medal in the sport of triathlon. QuestionnaireWhat does your standard training week involve? 2-3 sessions a day and a 4th of gym on some days as well. 7 days a week. Friday is usually an easier day, though it always feels harder after the other days of hard work. Favourite training venue/environment: Stellenbosch, South Africa. In amongst the vineyards is a good place to stop when you’re on a long, hot ride and thirsty in the base season. Favourite 2XU garment, when you use it and why: Compression Cycle Shorts are essential for long hours on the bike. Not only for comfort, but their assistance in reducing muscle fatigue so I can train harder again. Favourite training accessory (ie. heart rate monitor, power meter, pool buoy): My Eyeline finger paddles. They really help me connect in the water and improve my stroke for greater efficiency. Toughest experience in your career & what you learned from it: Injuries. Learning the hard way - that the body can only take so much at certain times and being the best judge of when to listen when things don’t feel right. Now it’s always about prevention is better than cure! What’s the most common training mistake you see on the circuit? Any suggestions on how to avoid it? Over-training rather than smart training. Listening to your body and communicating well with your coach. At the end of the day, race days are the ones that count, so there’s no use over expending yourself before your toes are on the line. What motivates you to train and race harder? Continually find new ways to improve and get faster in training and then putting it into practice on race day. I love the adrenalin and opportunity to rest before a big race as well, plus the reward of when it pays off as well. Describe your diet/meal plan in the week leading to a big race: I keep my diet fairly normal up until the last 2 days before a race. Fresh and what I normally eat in training. I then like to keep my food pretty basic and plain – something like rice and fish the night before. Keeping hydrated and making sure I have taken in enough energy up until the night before, because I find you can’t make this up on race morning if you haven’t had enough and certainly won’t during it. How do you balance out your training/racing regime with life outside sport? Like everything, you have to make time to switch off. Everyone can get consumed by their job and since being an athlete doesn’t have any specific hours, you have to make sure you take the opportunity to be a ‘normal person’. Taking a holiday at the end of the season and going out for dinner once a week could easily do the trick! What type of nutritional supplement do you find most helpful (either for training or competition)? An Iron supplement I find essential for me as this is something I constantly have to keep on top of. Fatigue from training is one thing, but an Iron defficiency on top of this is even more of a battle to contend with. Best and worst thing about being a professional athlete: Having the coolest job in the world where you get to be fit and healthy for a living, travel the world and meet great people. Being pretty tired for most of your life, though I think I would be more crazy if I didn’t burn off the energy I do in training so I am pretty content with this being the worst thing to deal with. That’s what Nana naps and espresso are for. In five years time, I’ll be: Probably still running around like crazy, maybe with my own business and a bit of sport to expend my energy. Hopefully chasing after some kids. |
Career Highlights
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