Swimming in a freezing Canberra lake in the middle of winter is certainly not everyone’s first choice for a training session, even for the toughest of triathletes. But for Australian triathlete Callum McClusky, Lake Burley Griffin was his only option when Canberra’s indoor pools were closed during the height of the pandemic.

The 25-year-old had started training with Melbourne-based coach Danielle Stefano midway through 2019 but they spent most of 2020 and 2021 apart due to the COVID restrictions and lockdowns, so training was done remotely with Stefano in Melbourne and McClusky in Canberra.   

“Cal was one of the most affected high-performance athletes through that period with no access to a pool for a year, so he spent that time swimming in Lake Burley Griffin,” recalled Stefano in the countdown to Saturday’s World Triathlon Championship Series race in Yokohama and McClusky’s Olympic Distance Series debut.

“He lasted until it got to 10 degrees in the water, swimming with gloves and booties and then had to shut up shop over winter.”

McClusky survived the conditions and he is one of five elite Australian men lining up when the World Triathlon Championship Series kick-starts again in Japan.

“With the international borders still closed in 2021 and difficulties with border restrictions travelling nationally to races, Cal began working fulltime alongside training fulltime to utilise that period to set himself up financially to get to races once the borders opened up again,” said Stefano.

“So 2022 was a year for Cal to work on technique and continually build back into the demands of international competition. We saw glimpses of what he was capable of but the consistency wasn’t there.”

But this year, under Stefano’s guidance, they have managed to put together a great support team around McClusky with South Melbourne Physio, Cate Gifford (strength & conditioning) and Alan McCubbin (dietitian). 

The investment and support of this team has given McClusky a new-found confidence in himself and his training and Stefano has seen that translate into some positive signs in his domestic season so far.

A win in the Oceania Triathlon Cup in Wanaka, 7^th in Taupo,  second to Birtwhistle in Devonport, and an 8^th place finish in the World Cup in New Plymouth.

“He’s confident, happy and just doing the basics really well,” said Stefano.

“Yokohama is an opportunity for him to learn and be exposed to that level of competition and to then build from race to race and apply those learnings throughout the season.” 

McClusky, who was disqualified in his WTCS debut in Montreal last year, knows it will be a great opportunity to gain more experience at this elite level.

“I want to be competitive throughout the race with a big focus on having a good swim/bike to help play to my strengths on the run,” said McClusky, who is also studying Economics and Finance at Deakin University in Melbourne. 

“My first WTCS result in Montreal was obviously very disappointing and it highlighted some areas of my racing which I needed to work on. 

“After that race, I went back to the drawing board and worked hard on my weaknesses. I’m grateful that I get the opportunity to race in Yokohama to redeem myself this weekend.

“Preparation for Yokohama has been very smooth. I’ve had a solid six weeks since my last race at the New Plymouth World Cup, so I’ve been able to put together some quality training in Melbourne in preparation for Yokohama. 

“I’ve had a great start to the domestic season so I’m looking to continue this form internationally.”

McClusky will be joined on the men’s start line by Jake Birtwhistle, Matt Hauser, Luke Willian and Brandon Copeland, while Sophie Linn, Natalie Van Coevorden, and the Hedgeland sisters, Jaz and Kira, make up strong Aussie contingent in the women’s field.

Catch all the action live on Saturday 13 May on TriathlonLive.tv starting at 10.46am AEST for the women’s race and 1.36pm AEST for the men’s race.