Triathlon Team Dominates in First Competition of the Season

Coaching new athletes without ever meeting them in person is not a challenge Liberty triathlon Coach Heather Gollnick ever faced before. But aided by new coaching technology, her hard work is paying off, as the team dominated Nat Greene’s Revenge Triathlon on Oct. 3. 

“We went to Greensboro, North Carolina, and we swept the podium,” Gollnick said. “We filled it with our athletes.” 

In the men’s competition, graduate students Giovanni Bianco and Mark Fairley placed first and second respectively, junior Ethan Kane claimed third, and sophomore David McCurdy took forth. For the Lady Flames, senior Taylor Villani finished first seventh overall.

Liberty left the competition victorious thanks to strong performances in all three phases of the race – biking, swimming and running – a testament to the hard work and perseverance of the team over the past few challenging months, according to Gollnick. 

“We’re swimming, we’re biking, and we’re running,” Gollnick said, “They put in a lot of time, a lot of time in the summer as well. Training for three sports, you have to be good at all three sports. So to come away with a full podium was phenomenal.”

At the competition, the Flames were required to follow COVID-19 guidelines to help ensure the safety of all involved. Everyone wore masks and each athlete had their temperature checked before competing. Also, the transition area between the different sports was generously spaced out, with four bikes on a 10-bike rack.

Despite the minor adjustments, the team remained appreciative of the chance to attend the only competition on the schedule this fall. 

“You do notice some differences, but I don’t think any of the athletes mind,” Gollnick said. “They’re just so appreciative and so thankful to have an opportunity to compete. There are so many sports that aren’t given the opportunity to (compete).”

For seven members of the triathlon team, the competition was the first of their Liberty career.

Gollnick said she was proud of the new performers, especially considering the challenges they faced joining the team in the midst of a pandemic. Because of some of the limitations, Gollnick found new methods to prepare her first-year athletes for collegiate competitions.

“Once I know they’ve committed to Liberty, I set them up with a thing called TrainingPeaks,” Gollnick said. “Basically, it’s a training platform where I input their workouts and then I get feedback. With some of the new athletes, we’d spend a lot of time going back and forth trying to bring them up to speed.”

In addition to TrainingPeaks, Gollnick also uses a program called Coach’s Eye, which allows athletes to send videos of themselves running or swimming. 

With the program. Gollnick can watch the videos in slow motion, critique them and share notes with the athletes to help them improve their form.

While she would prefer in-person training, this method helped Gollnick build trust and develop relationships with athletes she had never actually seen before.

“A lot of the athletes I hadn’t met,” Gollnick said, “but I’d seen them swimming on video and given them feedback. So, when they came to school, we already had a relationship. It was a different relationship but we had it built through phone conversations and video. Technology really helped.”  

Since arriving on campus, the team’s training includes open-water swimming at Camp Hydaway and utilizing the facilities at LaHaye. Along with the many trails at Hydaway, the athletes also frequent the indoor and outdoor tracks. Biking can be on campus, off campus or in the studio. 

Regardless of location and method of instruction, Gollnick said she is proud of her team’s performance and excited to continue developing her triathletes both physically and as well-rounded young adults.

“To see all the training translate into winning a race is huge,” Gollnick said. “We try to teach them, obviously, their goal is to succeed in their sport. But we want to see their success come in the classroom and beyond the sport. The hard work not only pays off in their sport but in their future jobs, and in their future periods of life.”

Sarah Williams is a Sports Reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahsaying.