Triathlete in Canada Games
15-year-old Tristen Jones training to compete in Winnipeg, with hopes of some day making the national, Olympic teams
While most teenagers are working summer jobs or hanging out with friends this summer, Tristen Jones is training for the Canada Games.
The 15-year-old trains everyday. He averages about five 4,000metre swims, five 10-kilometre runs, five 300-km bike rides and two dryland sessions a week.
Jones is getting ready to represent Team Ontario in triathlon at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg from July 29 to Aug. 12.
The St. Peter Secondary School student has been a competitive athlete for years, starting out as a runner.
He trained with the Peterborough Triathlon Youth Pirates for several years, swims with the Trent Swim Club and rides with the Peterborough Cycling Club.
Now, all those years of hard work and dedication have paid off and Jones is just weeks away from heading to Winnipeg as one of the youngest members of Team Ontario.
The Grade 11 student said it’s been rewarding to make the team at such a young age.
“It shows that no matter your age, or how good you may be, or if you’re new to the sport, you can actually still compete at a high level with much older people,” he said.
Jones said he’s mostly driven out of enjoyment for the sport, but there are some other bonuses, too.
“Being able to compete as such a high level and seeing how far I can push my body and being able to meet incredible people along the way.”
About eight months ago, Jones started training with Barrie Shepley, a former Olympic triathlon coach for Canada.
For a young guy, Shepley said Jones has more of the skills than almost anybody else he’s seen at 15.
While most triathletes have holes in their training background, that’s not the case for Jones.
“In Tristen’s case, it’s pretty amazing how confident he is at all three skills,” Shepley said.
The C3 Canadian Cross Training Club head coach said Jones’s success has a great deal to do with the excellent coaching he’s received in Peterborough.
Having supportive parents, who’re also athletes, is also a key factor in Jones’s early accomplishments, Shepley added.
Because most triathletes peak in their late 20s, Shepley’s goal is to make sure the right skills are laid out over the next couple of years for Jones to eliminate any weaknesses.
“Rather than rushing things ... the real objective is that three or four years from now he has all the right package to be able to race internationally,” Shepley said.
With many of the right elements already in place, such as family support, genetics, great local coaches, and an eagerness to learn, Shepley expects to see Jones taking his sport to the next level in the near future.
“It would be very surprising for me not to see him racing on the national team,” Shepley said.
Making the national team sounds good to Jones, too – so does making the Olympic team.
“To compete at that would be amazing and I’m going to push to try to get there,” Jones said.