Bond Elite Sport Program (BESP) member Liv Jeffrey has a score to settle at this year’s ITU Age Group World Triathlon Championships … with the road.
In last year’s Olympic-distance Junior Championship, Liv hit the pavement hard in the bike leg, leaving her with cuts and bruises all over her body. She still managed to finish the race in 7th place and has been selected for the Australian Age Group team again this year.
“That fall off my bike really made me understand that, no matter how much training and preparation you do, anything can happen on race day,” said Liv, who left for The Netherlands this week.
The former Lauriston Girls’ School student and 2016 Captain of the School Sport Victoria Triathlon team relocated to the Gold Coast earlier this year and is studying a Bachelor of Sports Management at Bond University.
Having competed in her first triathlon at 12 years of age, the Gold Coast’s reputation as Australia’s hub of triathlon was a big attraction.
“I love training at the Bond pool and the Gold Coast scenery is spectacular for bike riding – it makes those 5.15am starts worthwhile,” she said.
“It was challenging at first to get into a new training regime in a new environment but I’ve found the system that is best for me is to continue working with my Melbourne coach via correspondence for the swim and run legs, and training with the Surfers Paradise Triathlon Club for the bike.
“Being surrounded by such incredible athletes really motivates me to achieve my personal goals.”
As a junior competitor, Liv has already ticked off a number of those goals.
“I decided to get serious about triathlon when I was 16 so I started entering bigger events like the Gatorade series where you were competing with professional athletes,” she said.
“This helped inspire me and see the potential to improve my times.”
In 2016, Liv finished first in her age group for the Gatorade series and was selected as part of the Australian Age Group team for the World Championships in Cozumel Mexico.
“I competed in all three disciplines – finishing 11th in my age group for the Aquathlon, 25th in the sprint distance and 7th in the Olympic distance after that fall – but, most of all, wearing the green and gold at just 18 years of age was something I’ll never forget.”
In the lead-up to this year’s Age Group World Championships, Liv headed over to San Francisco to compete in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon as part of the Save the Children team.
In addition to helping the team raise more than $50,000 for the global charity, she won her age group despite the swim leg being cancelled due to bad weather.
“Triathlon is such a great sport – both in terms of the community of athletes and the fact that it is a fun event for the whole family,” said Liv.
“Being part of the Bond Elite Sport Program has really helped me organise the logistics of travelling to the qualifying races and events like Escape from Alcatraz while keeping up with my studies.”
“I am excited about competing in Rotterdam this year and learning more about racing under different conditions. I ultimately want to combine my passion for sport with a career but, at the moment, it’s all about setting new goals and learning from each race.”
Olivia received Bond’s Elite Athlete Fund to help with her expenses for the World championships in the Netherlands and credits the BESP program with helping her reach her goal of getting there.