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Triathlon: Tips of the tri
Mike Martin of TCL Sports tells SGB Sports about the state of triathlon, and where the sport is headed.
According to Mike Martin of TCL Sports, triathlon is one of the strongest growing sports in the UK at the moment.
A drive to improve the health of the nation is no doubt helping, but so is the triathlon sector’s work to make new entrants to the sport feel comfortable enough to take it up. Says Martin: “There are a lot of people taking up triathlon, and this is in no small part down to the work of the industry to make people feel comfortable enough to join. That’s where a lot of the growth is coming from.
“Once you get people into triathlon, fit and enjoying it, they tend to come back and spend more and upgrade. And triathletes are quick to adopt new technologies and are amenable to new developments and products.
“For example, we launched the Newton running shoe into the triathlon market to test the waters for natural running.”
A series of seminars, starting with one dedicated to the trade in February, are now being planned which are designed to showcase natural running as a product category.
Martin says there are various ongoing technical innovations that are helping improve the performance of triathletes. Wetsuits and clothing are notable examples, Martin says.
He highlights the 2XU X2 wetsuit, which TCL has helped develop in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Sport. One big innovation is that it incorporates some of the same material used in buoys to enhance buoyancy.
“It’s a concept car of a wetsuit, where money’s no problem and it pushes the boundaries of innovation,” says Martin.
“It has been developed to use the best materials and products to be the best wetsuit available. It is very expensive at £650 but is a product at the very cutting edge.”
For more, see the February issue of SGB Sports, p24.
