Emma Moffat

Emma Moffat is an Australian double world champion and Olympic medallist triathlete, originally from New South Wales, Australia.

She was the silver medallist at the U23 World Championships in 2006, and from there progressed to a successful senior career.

She had some World Cup podium finishes in 2007 but really made her breakthrough in 2008 where she was bronze medallist at the Beijing Olympics. From there, she went on to be crowned ITU World Champion in 2009 and 2010.

She currently lives on the Gold Coast, Australia, with partner and fellow triathlete Brad Kahlefeldt. They have both been nominated for selection for the London 2012 Olympics.

You can follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/_moffy

You were nominated for a place in the 2012 Olympics back in December 2011. How does early selection help you, are there any negatives?

Being selected early is a big weight off the shoulders. It’s nice to know that the main objective of the year is to be peaking in August and not having to fight it out early in the season. But having said that, I’d still like to race well in the early World Series races!


London will be your second Olympics. How will your Beijing experience influence your preparations for London?

There is so much significance placed on the Olympics so I think it's important to not get too wrapped up in the hype and approach it like other major races. This time around I’m being coached by Craig Walton, so I’ll leave the training aspect to him, and just do what I’m told!

You have also been doing some work with 2004 Olympic Road Race Champion Sara Carrigan. What have you learnt from her and have you any tips for newcomers to triathlon about the bike?

It’s great to be able to go for a ride with an Olympic Champ who has so much cycling knowledge. The main things Sara focused on during our rides were skills for cornering as well as positioning in bunches. My tip would be to go riding with an experienced rider and let them give you as much feedback/advice as possible to gain confidence while riding.

You come across as a very relaxed person, what tips could you give to our readers on how to stay relaxed and control nerves before a big race?

I pretty much always get nervous before any race, but I do like to stay as relaxed as possible. For me staying relaxed is about distracting myself as much as possible but within reason. That means conserving energy and being sensible, so normally I like to watch some telly or hangout and chat with the other girls. Girls can chat for hours :)

What are your plans for post-London 2012? We’ve seen Brad mention you’d both like to try something new. We’ve also seen you say the longer distances don’t appeal at all, so would non-drafting races appeal?

I’m unsure what I’ll do after London. If I’m still motivated I might try some non-drafting races and races I’ve never done before. I don't have much interest in doing an Ironman, I think they are crazy long!

You’ve obviously travelled the world a lot for racing and training. It seems from your Twitter comments you quite like a bit of shopping, so for a totally non-triathlon question, where are your favourite shopping destinations?!

I’m always browsing online shops, but lately I’ve been good and not purchasing. When I’m overseas I like any shops we don't have here in Australia. At the end of the year I’m heading to New York, and I've heard the shopping is great there, so that might go straight to the top of my favourites list!

How do you relax/switch off from triathlon during long spells of travelling abroad?

That’s probably my biggest challenge when we are in France, everything is triathlon! I have a cruiser bike that I often take to the shops and find quite relaxing to ride and escape camp. I’m also thankful for Skype so calling home is easy! And I online shop :)

16th April 2012

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