A uniqueness to triathlon is that unlike many other sports, it incorporates three individual sports in one, and because of this, many people love to participate to experience the challenge of competing in all three at once.
But for most, they will find themselves staying for the infectious community, and young Leif Eriksson from South Australia shares this belief.
Since beginning his triathlon journey seven years ago at a Weetbix Kid Triathlon, Leif has enjoyed every minute.
“I saw the Weetbix Kid Triathlon race come up and my Dad said something about how he used to do triathlons a lot, so I gave it a try,” Eriksson said.
“I really enjoyed it and I’ve raced as often as I could ever since.”
Since beginning his triathlon career, Leif’s most memorable moment was during his first national trip in Tasmania.
“A personal highlight was when I first went away on a national trip for the 2022 Australian Schools Championship down in Tasmania,” he said.
“I really just appreciated how loving and caring everyone was down there, and everyone from the other states were really kind too.”
With strong performance goals in place for himself ahead of 2025 National Schools events, it is still the community he looks forward to the most.
“I want to perform well at National Schools and any other national triathlon events,” he said.
“But I quite enjoy the community and the fact that triathlon combines a bunch of sports together that I love doing.
“I love that it is both a community and the sport itself.
“Triathlon has given me so many friends and kept me on the right path and focused on something.
“To anyone that wants to start their own triathlon journey I would say come and give it a go, and if you don’t love the actual event you will love being a part of the community around it.”
If you are interested in getting involved in triathlon, head to https://www.triathlon.org.au/ to find an event near you.
