Towards the end of February, female triathlon coaches from Costa Rica, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium and Turkey joined the Women in Sport High Performance Pathway (WISH) programme at the University of Hertfordshire in London for a residential course designed to equip women coaches with the tools they need to succeed at the highest level. Nine global sports were represented at the five-day event funded by the Olympic Solidarity programme to help the IOC fulfil its aim of having more female coaches participating at the Olympic Games.
World Triathlon received nominations from several National Federations that were then reviewed and selected by the programme. Carolina Mora of Costa Rica, Ozenc Aygun from Turkey, Annie Andersson from Sweden, Tine Deckers of Belgium and Ireland’s Eleanor Condor were the successful applicants, each bringing very different experiences and backgrounds to the table.
There will be eight further online sessions before graduation in July 2024, but the coaches reflected positively on the tools they gained over the week and the experience in general that has empowered them to return home with renewed goals and confidence to achieve them.
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Carolina Mora (CRC) has been a coach for 25 years and attended numerous courses during that time, but none that were quite like this. “I think we are all totally different people to those that turned up on day one. We have done so many activities to help empower us and be more confident. I was honoured to be selected. There aren’t many opportunities for women to grow, and I have always tried to be there for others and let them know that we, as women, can do it. But we need to push for it.”
It was a feeling shared by Eleanor Condor (IRL). One of six women in a seven-strong development team within the Triathlon Ireland set up, she has seen that it can be harder for women coaches to progress beyond a certain level in the sport.
“It’s not at grassroots (where there is an issue), it’s driving to the top. I have been able to reflect on moments where i’ve perhaps not stood up for my coaching philosophy as I would have like and I feel now in a stronger place to have it heard. My comfort zone has always been with junior athletes, but this course has helped me shift that focus towards getting to LA 2028 and beyond.”
On 8 March, to mark International Women’s Day, we will hear more from all of the coaches on the current WISH programme as well as many other women from around the sport.
