If GB weren't favourites already for Olympic gold in the men's and women's triathlon they certainly are now. Both Helen Jenkins and Jonny Brownlee ran away from the rest of the field in a dominant display over the weekend. There were a few big names missing from both the men's and women's line ups but there was still a lot of talent racing. Without wanting to put too much pressure on the GB triathletes I can't think of a better result in the Olympics than seeing Alistair and Jonny Brownlee finish one and two and Helen Jenkins number one in the triathlon. While I would love to see the Kiwi's getting a few medals I would be happy with bronze in the men's and silver in the women's if it meant GB took two golds and a silver. It's a tough pill to swallow.
In the Kingfisher Aquathlon over the weekend the team did a fantastic job to finish second in the mob match for the second event in a row. We didn't quite make it into the league top three but we can't have been far off. Sam Burch was the fastest finisher of the lads and Hannah Moraa was the fastest of the girls. Well done to all those competing. There were some very close finishes amongst the team providing a little extra motivation for the next event. This weekend is the Crystal Palace Sprint Triathlon and then there is a bit of a gap until the Hillingdon Sprint Triathlon on July 15.
We will be giving our budding coaches the opportunity to plan and lead our swim and run sessions over the next few weeks. Any feedback from you would be great to help them on their way to becoming fab triathlon coaches. Make sure your bring fins and pull buoys to each session as we always have an element of technique in our swim sets that may require using one or both of the above.
Over the past few weeks I have been videoing a number of you in the pool. A common fault that I have observed is the tendency to over-rotate. This happens most often during the breathing stroke but not always. When it does occur on the breathing stroke most of you will say it is when breathing to your 'weaker' side. That sensation of weakness is probably caused by the over-rotation. To get a better understanding of body roll/rotation have a look at what the guys from Swim Smooth say about it here.
There are a number of causes of over-rotation, some are quite simple like looking to the sky when breathing or pressing down on the water and others are more complex like stroke timing issues. Body rotation is essential for good freestyle technique but excessive rotation is just as detrimental as too little. Finding the cause in each individual is key but once fixed you will be more efficient in the water and reduce your risk of injury. Here's Jono (again!) to show you what you are striving for.
Good luck to all those competing this weekend. See you later, Tim (LFTC Coach).
