David Hauss and Nicola Spirig are the European Triathlon Champions for 2015.
Not a surprise to many but then there is a lot more to these two athletes than standing atop of the podium.
I’ve written about the articulate Spirig on a few occasions and what stands out with the reigning Olympic Champion is that triathlon is but a part of her busy life. Her young son Yannis is the centre of her and husband Reto Hug’s focus, everything else fitting in and around a stable and happy family life.
Take her comeback to ITU World Series racing for instance. After running the Zurich Marathon for training on the Sunday, Spirig and family headed to South Africa the very next day for the Cape Town leg of the ITU roadshow. With the race scheduled for that Saturday, morning running predominated over the other two disciplines, with cycling training being in the form of 8pm indoor trainer sessions after days reserved for sightseeing. Not a lot of time for much else there!
Then there is her fellow 2015 Champion Hauss, a fellow equally as interesting who lists rest, meditation and surfing among his preferred hobbies. After passing out in a running race on the island of Reunion, Hauss related that he realised his body and mind needed a break, electing to participate in some outlandish adventure races in 2013 before getting back to “business” as part of an elite training squad the following year.
Group training proved not for him though, and the deep-thinking Hauss elected to take control of his own athletic destiny whilst starting a family with his wife Melanie. Different folks different strokes, as they say, and the man who calls the Indian Ocean “department” home for much of the calendar year is certainly benefitting from doing things his own way.
Look at the race results at face value and you might see two champion athletes at the top of their respective games. One from France, the other representing Switzerland emerging in the pre-Olympic year as favourites for Rio 2016. But that is only part of a far bigger picture.
Look deeper between the lines and you might realise that here are two people with exceptional talent, highly independent and not afraid to do things their own way.
And as the header image suggests, Hauss’ striding away sans shoes to achieve the mixed relay title for France could no doubt confirm this.
