Are SLT Specialists Set to Emerge?

Chris Perham thinks we are about to see the emergence of dedicated Super League triathletes.

The advent of Twenty20 in cricket generated a new type of player with youngsters growing up wanting to play the fast and lucrative formats of the game while more established stars unlikely to make a Test team became specialists in shorter versions.

Perham thinks something similar is on the verge of happening in triathlon.

For those athletes who are likely to have a chance of getting to the Tokyo Olympics the focus for the first half of the year remains on chasing medals, before Super League then comes into view.

But for those like Perham for whom an Olympic spot would be a massive bonus rather than something they expect, they are targeting Super League as a chance to shine on a global stage and grab themselves greater profile and some big prize money.

Looking ahead to his 2020, Perham said:

It’s doing what I normally do with world and European cups and trying to deliver podiums. That is what I do normally and if I get into an Olympics that would be a plus, but if I don’t that can be a plus because I can focus on Super League.
Other athletes might focus on the Olympics with Super League as an add-on, for me it could be targeting Super League as my main races of the year.
I don’t think anyone yet has been a dedicated Super League athlete. They train and race and maybe then adapt their training for Super League and that’s what they are there for as they do the ITU stuff alongside it.
If Super League is something you want to be the best at you need to be dedicated to that training for the whole year so for those athletes that are going to the Olympics they might find it harder to come to Super League.
Maybe for an athlete like me or other up and comers that make it through a Qualifier it sets up their season to plan training leading into the Super League events and they won’t be as fatigued as some of the others so there could be a couple of surprise performances which would be good.