Sergio Borges has been tasked with steering Asia’s leading triathlon program at Thanyapura Phuket in Thailand in his new role as head of the facility’s Triathlon Academy.
The elite coach and nine-time all American athlete was headhunted by Thanyapura’s Executive Chairman and four-time triathlon world champion Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, as Thanyapura Phuket establishes itself as a leading sporting hub in Asia.
Chris believes Sergio has what it takes as a coach to take the Thanyapura Triathlon Academy to the next level. He said “Having worked directly with Sergio over the last two years, I’ve been blown away with his knowledge and passion for the sport.
“He’s the king of qualifying age groupers for Kona and will do an amazing job raising the bar for all our members and guests, as well as the sport here in Asia. This is massive for us and I’m beyond excited to have him here.”
Sergio, a USA Triathlon (USAT) representative at numerous coaching clinics and camps, has dedicated the past 20 years to studying the art and science of triathlon training. He has competed in hundreds of races including more than 80 IRONMAN and half dstance events and seven Hawaii IRONMAN World Championships.
His coaching has contributed to the emergence of many of today’s top California-based professional and age group talents, and so far he has helped 137 athletes qualify for the IRONMAN World Championships.
Thanyapura’s CEO Philipp Graf von Hardenberg said that Sergio will be an asset to the Phuket team and believes he will help to build the academy to the next level. He said “Sergio has taken over a programme that is internationally recognised for its ability to promote performance in elite and amateur athletes alike. The fact that Chris has personally selected Sergio indicates the esteem in which he is held in the triathlon community. We have got the right man.”
Sergio’s creative approach to coaching led him to develop his own coaching method, Inverted Training Periodisation, in 2004. He has since refined it, and combines his experience coaching athletes of all ages and abilities with a fundamental belief in the need for an individualised and realistic training plan so each athlete can achieve their goal – from staying healthy to becoming a champion.
“Thanyapura is an amazing facility with all the tools needed to get the very best out of an athlete, whether you are competing on the world stage or a local event,” Sergio said.
“It’s at the cutting edge of the sport, and I feel honoured and privileged to be handed the keys to such an advanced programme. I look forward to taking it to even greater heights, because something this good only got there because the people behind it never settle.”
The 23-hectare one-stop-shop venue in Phuket is a regular training base for triathlon stars, such as two-time world champion Caroline Steffen, Ronnie Schildknecht, who was the only man to win the same elite triathlon event seven straight times, and Hall of Famer Belinda Granger.
Athletes are lured to Thanyapura because of the Olympic-standard facilities and the on-site stable of coaches, sports scientists, sports psychologists, dieticians, physiotherapists and chiropractors – with everything underpinned by Thanyapura’s ‘ three-dimensional coaching model for the mind, body and soul’.
