To the Top of the Class January 2005 • Coaches are supposed to have a certain inside track to success for their athletes. It's often that one bit of savvy expertise that can make the difference for a competitor, particularly in a sport such as triathlon where the athlete is left all alone to conquer the rest of the field and the specific strategies of the course. Siri Lindley has retired from being the world's top female triathlete and turned her attentions to coaching. If anyone knows how to construct a winning way on Edmonton's World Cup course, it is the American who won back-to-back International Triathlon Union events here in 2001 and '02. Who better to benefit from that knowledge than Lindley's star pupil, Canada's own Jill Savege, who holds down the No. 3-ranking on the ITU standings board. But until Savege breaks the tape in today's derby at Hawrelak Park, the secrets will remain between teacher and student. "I'd love to tell you but it's between Jill and I," smiled Lindley. "There are ways you need to tackle this course. Who's there in the field affects the unravelling of the race and you have to be prepared for anything. "There's lots of situations that can arise during a race and it's a matter of handling them with composure and being able to do what you have to do no matter what happens along the way." LOOKING FOR AN EDGE Savege was looking for an edge, and one that would work anywhere, not just on the course Lindley had owned. "It was her winning ways that I wanted to learn from," said Savege. "Mentally, it is how she looks at a race and how to play the game properly and physically, she's being training me so hard. I've done so much hard work that I can see why she'd always win. "I've got one year left before the Olympics and who better than the best in the world the last two years and the world champion to tell you how she changed from decent results to being dominant for two years." Lindley has started up her own training group in Boulder, Colorado, and will soon be adding another Canuck, Sharon Donnelly, to the mix. For now, though, she is focused on bringing Savege to the top of the world. "We have a really incredible partnership because Jill reminds me of myself so much as an athlete and yet she's very unique in her own way," said Lindley. "What we bring to the table together is something really powerful. "She raced Victoria a couple weeks ago and it was really incredible to see how she's developed as an athlete physically as well as mentally in her racing from the short time we've worked together. She's really a determined individual who's willing to do all the hard work, she's got incredible talent and she's willing to do whatever it takes work-wise to make her dreams come true." EAGER TO ATTACK THE HILL Savege, who had two wins on the World Cup tour in 2002 (Hamburg and Makuhari, Japan), is eager to attack the Emily Murphy hill on the revamped cycling course -- just part of the development of an improved mental game plan orchestrated by Lindley. "Every one of us is in amazing shape, but it's how you approach it mentally and how much pain can you tolerate," explained the 28-year-old Toronto native. "My pain threshold has actually increased and I can take a lot more than I thought I could. Every race I'm testing it again. My race in Victoria, I was in pain the whole run, I've never been in so much pain, and I thought I was running quite slow. I ended up have the best run and race of my life." Current world No. 1 Barb Lindquist was part of an American sweep of the medals last year, finishing second behind Lindley. With her U.S. teammate out of the picture in a competitive sense, Lindquist goes from being the hunter to the hunted, although it's a role she's quite comfortable with. "I've always felt like I've had a target on my back," said Lindquist, who won here in 1999 and is coming off a victory at Ishigaki, Japan. "I'm excited to have a good race and if it's closer that means it'll be harder and I'll learn more about myself." This article was written by Scott err and originally published on the Slam Sports website. Back to Articles Page

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