Meet Your Neighbor

Tony Phillips

April 30, 2007

Endurance Athlete
Chosen for Duathlon World Championships

As a 12-year-old vacationing with his family in Gaylord, Mich., Tony Phillips competed in his first triathlon -- an event combining swimming, biking and running. "At the time I just had a mountain bike," he recalls. "I had no idea what I was really doing."

While he didn't own fancy racing wheels or expensive shoes, Tony possessed traits that are even more important: determination and natural ability. These characteristics propelled him to a first-place finish in his debut race, and they're what's transformed the Sun Prairie High School junior into an elite multi-sport athlete over the five years that followed.

Now, at age 17, Tony is preparing for his greatest competition yet, the Duathlon World Championships in Hungary on May 19. He is one of just six male athletes from the U.S. chosen to compete in the 16-19 age division. The U.S. team will race against 25 other squads from around the globe.

The competition will include a 5K run (3.1 miles), a 20K bike ride (12.4 miles) and a 2.5K run (1.55 miles). Tony anticipates finishing in around an hour.

"They look at your experience on the bike and your running times; they scout around," says Tony, describing how members are chosen for the Junior USA Team of the International Triathlon Union. The selection group most likely took into account Tony's strong finish in last summer's ITU national triathlon in Connecticut.

To train for such endurance events, Tony's daily routine can include up to eight miles of running and 20-30 miles on his bike. This spring, much of his training has come from being on the Sun Prairie track team, where he competes in the mile and two-mile.

Originally, running was Tony's favorite event. However, he says, "I think it's kind of changing now. I like the biking more -- the speed and the power, the endurance. Down hills are the most exciting on the bike because you hit some pretty fast speeds."

When Tony departs for the competition in Hungary, he'll be traveling with his strongest supporters: parents Todd and Diane, brother Andrew and sister Ashlynn.

This home team, in fact, often finds ways to share their mutual interest in running, biking and swimming. It began when they'd follow Todd to some of his competitions, including the Iron Man, the granddaddy of all triathlons. Gradually, the kids became interested is participating, too, and started signing up for their own competitive events.

See Tony with his mom and dad.

While Tony will have a U.S. coach in Hungary, Todd has been mentoring his oldest son in preparation for the international event. They often train together with Todd teaching his son tactics and strategy.

Other training partners include high school teacher and former college runner Paul Frank, and Lindsey Kong of the University of Wisconsin Women's Cross Country Team.

Tony says the reality of his upcoming international competition is "starting to sink in a little bit." He recently received his team uniform in the mail and his name is listed on the competition's Web site.

He'll meet his teammates four days before the event and they'll likely spend some time riding together to learn each other's strengths.

While Tony's attention these days is focused primarily on his May 19 race, he does have grander aspirations for his competitive career. He hopes to one day compete on the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. The triathlon is a petition sport for the Olympics, meaning advocates are lobbying for its inclusion as a standard event.

World-class triathletes generally peak between their mid-20s and early 30s, meaning Tony has a good chunk of time to prepare. But what does it take to compete at such a level?

"Strictness and discipline with your body," explains Tony. "The determination to win and do good. All the training."

Tony is already thinking about college, with one option being to attend a university somewhere warm that has a solid triathlon club team.

The Nike approach

For those considering a triathlon, duathlon or even a fun run, Tony's advice is simple: Just do it.

In particular, he says, there are some fun local competitions well worth considering, including the library's Book It run and St. Albert the Great's parish festival run.

Tony's favorite? The Strawberry Fest Run, in which he's placed second the past two years.

He plans to compete again this June. And this time, Number 1 had better be prepared, because Number 2 will be coming at him with some international experience under his belt.