Tony Dodds

Tony Dodds is one to watch. Since becoming a competitive triathlete in 2005 he has quickly made his way to the top, securing the title of New Zealand Under 23 Champion three times and winning the New Zealand Sprint Championships in both 2010 and 2011. He is currently ranked number one in NZ, has achieved a number of top 5′s in World Cups, and multiple top 10 finishes in the World Triathlon Series.

With the ultimate goal of competing this year in the 2016 Olympic Games, he is on his way towards qualification with gaining a top 8 finish in London in 2015, and two top 10 finishes, before having to pull out half way through the season with a hip injury.

Since starting the sport Tony’s vision has been to change the way people look at it, the way it is being raced, and to be a role model.

Over the past 12 years, triathlon has been all about the run; Tony sees weakness in the swimming and complacency on the bike whilst competitors sit back and wait for the run. This is where he wants to change the sport, making it about all 3 disciplines, not just the run.

Tony’s strategy is to lead from the front, make the swim hard, the bike even harder and finish it off on the run. He believes that to be a world champion this is what needs to be done and it is his endeavour to be the first to truly conquer this!

Originally from Wanaka, Otago Tony is now living in Cambridge to be part of New Zealand’s high performance centre, however he still trains each year for a period of 3 to 4 weeks back up at the Snow Farm for high altitude training. He spends 8 months in New Zealand, and 4 months in Europe competing at top World Triathlon events.

Tonys Program

From a competitive swimming background, Tony has developed into a highly competitive Triathlete at national and international level. Early coaching with John Hellemans developed a very strong aerobic base and brilliant cycle and run development, whilst maintaining his swimming prowess. As he moved into the international career in Triathlon, the programme is still built around the principles installed by John Hellemans, with a focus of continuation of strengthening the bike leg and a fast run of the bike.

Head Coach – Tim Brazier

Tim has been Tony’s coach since 2009, and also carries a National Coaching role with Triathlon New Zealand.

His coaching career started 15 years ago in swimming and he has worked up the ranks, starting with juniors and moving through to working with New Zealand representatives. During this time Tim also completed a Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Physical Education at the University of Otago. Since 2007 Tim has worked with Triathletes, firstly with a swim focus and now with an overall focus. Within these years Tim’s athletes have achieved on the National and International stage, with podium places at World Championship and World Cup events, in ITU, Ironman and Xterra. It is Tim’s aspiration to coach multiple Olympic medallists and backs Tony to be one the world’s most successful Triathletes.

Physiotherapist – Rone Thompson

Roné Thompson is employed by High Performance Sport New Zealand and has been Tony’s physiotherapist since 2014. She is actively involved in helping Tony target his muskuloskeletal status in order for him to perform at his best. This involves delivering proactive and performance enhancing therapies, alongside managing injuries. In addition, Roné is responsible for his conditioning program which is aimed at preventing injuries and improving his functional strength, with the goal to achieving better results.

Roné completed her B.Sc Physiotherapy in South Africa at the University of Stellenbosch and a Masters in Manual therapy at the University of Western Australia.

Roné started working full time for English Institute of Sport in 2002 where she was one of the main physiotherapists for the British Athletics Track and Field team. She was involved and accompanied the British team to several World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games. She immigrated to New Zealand early 2014 where she began her role with the TriNZ team.

She is extremely passionate about managing endurance sport and enjoys working with athletes helping them to achieve their specific goals.

Athlete Life Advisor – Nathan Twaddle

Nathan is an Athlete Life advisor for High Performance Sport New Zealand and works with Tony on his career and personal development including how to incorporate life with achieving his goals as an athlete and beyond.  A two time Olympian, Olympic medallist and former World Champion in rowing, Nathan has first-hand knowledge and experience of the sharp end of elite sport plus the added insight of formal training in career counselling, life coaching and sport management.

To apply a cliché; if Tony was an astronaut going to the moon (read Olympic glory), Nathan sits firmly back at Mission Control (ie. the couch at his home in Cambridge) cheering him on, having done his bit a year out. “Ultimately I get a kick out of seeing others succeed and knowing I played a small part in their journey to get there” says Nathan.