Ruedi Wild has been celebrating major national and international successes for years. He was several times Team World Champion (2009 and 2010), European Champion (2012 and 2014), and in total, 6-time triathlon and duathlon Swiss Champion. He achieved his most recent top result at the beginning of September where he came in third on the 70.3 distance at the World Championships in Mooloolaba/Australia. We are looking forward to his first appearance at the Ironman in Hawaii!

A few days ago you scored your most valuable international result. How did you find the race? What was your key to this success?

The race was very intense, not only physically but also mentally. I had to be 100% focused right from the starting signal through to the final spurt 4 hours later, and deliver a top performance in all 3 disciplines. I was even able to entertain hopes of the World Cup title right to the end. The competition venue in Australia has many positive memories for me because I was already able to celebrate some wonderful short-distance successes at the World Cups there. Another beautiful experience has now been added with this great success.

The key to success was down to a number of things: For several weeks I engaged in targeted preparation during which I forwent most competitions and focused my energy on training and the associated recovery. This included a training break of nearly 10 days in June in order to be fully mentally recovered again. This is precisely where most athletes still have potential for development.

The balance in the 3 disciplines made sure that I was with the top athletes right from the start and never had to make up precious seconds, which correspondingly diminishes strength after the first few hours. My anticipation of the race is probably my greatest strength, not only because of the weighting of the three disciplines during the preparation, but also in terms of my conduct during the race itself.

During your career you have so far been successful in all distances. In your eyes, what are the three most important reasons for your success? What could hobby triathletes copy?

Consistency in training. Many athletes believe there is some kind of "secret training" that makes all the difference. However, days, weeks, months, and years of consistency is far more important. This also requires patience, motivation and above all, enjoying what you do!

Further learning on an ongoing basis is important, as is optimising all performance-relevant areas (including critically analysing previous performances). Today, perhaps 95% of trainers at even the highest levels still rely on training theory findings from 20 years ago or more (such as the popular method of periodisation). The same holds true when it comes to nutrition, both in general and during a competition. However, based on my personal practical knowledge and experience, this approach is completely outdated. For this reason, I have also decided together with my wife to offer related services in future through our new venture “Tri Wild - Health, Nutrition and Performance”.

Training/recovery ratio. The right mix makes all the difference! While most athletes readily plan their training, they tend to forget that recovery is just as important and also needs to be planned, especially when it comes to the normally stressful everyday working life. This includes sleep, nutrition, not to mention a healthy approach to sport as such. Many athletes are much too tense and fixated on their training schedule, which they regard as some kind of halfway sanctuary. This is even evident in the 80% light units. They also often forget to enjoy what they do as well as joint training with friends and like-minded souls. Without these experiences, I myself would most probably no longer be practising high-performance sport.

For 16 (!) years you have been a member of the Swiss triathlon national team. What are the biggest changes the triathlon sport experienced during this time? And how have you had to change your training or tactics?

The triathlon sport has developed enormously, and not just with regards to its recognition and popularity among the general public. At the competition level, the rise in the enormous density of athletes particularly stands out (see, for example, (see the ranking of the 70.3 World Championship Australian). At the professional level, you can no longer afford to have any weaknesses. The athletes today are triathletes right from the start. Lateral entrants from other sports disciplines have become enormously scarce, because they can usually no longer attain the necessary swimming level, for example.

The training and tactics are heavily oriented towards their own physical conditions, strengths and weaknesses. Unlike earlier times, I probably now train somewhat less but for this I am more focused and draw on my vast experience. I can feel how a training session affects me and what is needed to get in shape. I am now less stressed when things don’t go so well and I need to leave out one training session or the other.

My training is more strongly oriented towards strength these days. During the season I even usually complete 2 intensive strength training sessions per week using free weights. I could probably keep up with many body builders at this stage. ;-) My wife is a sports physiotherapist so I'm in the best of hands here. She was also able to convince me of this new stimulation, although I (like most endurance athletes today) was still a bit sceptical. Today I am convinced that this is probably the main reason for my further increase in performance over the past few years, despite my athletically advanced age.

Most athletes tend to get nervous one week before a competition and take risks experimenting or try to make up lost ground. What does your training typically look like on a day-to-day basis during the week of a competition?

My immediate preparation looks somewhat different depending on the importance of the competition. I still tend to compete in most of the competitions while training without great consideration. Since Friday is normally my rest day, I can recover enough for the Sunday, keeping my training short on the Saturday.

I taper before important competitions such as the 70.3 World Championship. I usually significantly reduce my training 2 weeks before the race. In doing so I then normally experience great fatigue - a good sign which tells me that my body is adapting accordingly. In the last week I then try to get back into the normal training rhythm that my body is accustomed to. However, the training sessions are usually only about half as long as normal. This always makes me feel fresh and I could keep going. In the middle of the week, usually on Wednesday and Thursday, I then undertake competition-specific training in each of the three disciplines. These are always slightly different, and so I listen to my body. No longer overdoing it, just getting a good feeling... I use the extra time for one thing or the other, such as drinking coffee with my (sports) colleagues and mentally preparing myself for the race and the challenges therein.

Foto: ZVG