Gentle aiming high in Games
ASHLEIGH Gentle is leaving no stone unturned in her bid for a medal at a home Commonwealth Games, honing her preparations with a stint in altitude next month.
Gentle finished second in the World Triathlon Series this season and is among the favourites in the women’s triathlon, the first medal event of April’s Gold Coast Games.
The 26-year-old rounded out a long year of racing at the Island House triathlon in the Bahamas last month, a fortnight after racking up a fifth win in the iconic Noosa race.
The Gold Coast product enjoyed a short break but will be back into work quickly, heading into camp with other members of coach Jamie Turner’s squad briefly this month before an altitude camp in January that could provide the edge she needs for the Games.
“We’ve got a really brief camp in December in Canberra, that’s mainly a skills-based camp but a good opportunity to get back with the squad, with Jamie, and touch base,” Gentle said. “And then we’ll have another altitude camp in Canberra in January.”
Gentle has had little exposure to altitude in the past but believes a stint in the Australian Institute of Sport’s “altitude house” in Canberra will give her an edge in the lead-up to the Gold Coast Games.
The facility simulates an altitude of about 3000m above sea level, with athletes spending 14 hours or more inside each day to get the full benefit from having to work harder to breathe the reduced amount of oxygen in the air.
The other hours of the day are spent outside in normal training conditions.
“It’s a really good opportunity, I guess, just to expose ourselves to that,” said Gentle, who will share the facility with other members of Turner’s normally Wollongong-based squad, including Games teammate Charlotte McShane and Gold Coaster Matt Hauser, who will join the group for the three-week stint.
“Being at the AIS in the house, it’s really controlled and we have dietitians and sports scientists and people there to help us,” Gentle said.
While altitude training usually gives athletes the greatest boost for around a month afterwards, Gentle said her response to next month’s stint would determine whether she used the technique again closer to the Games.
“I’m not really sure of the plans but maybe (my response will determine whether) I’ll go into an altitude tent in March or something,” she said.