Triathlon: Triathletes test 'swimmer's treadmill'

Flossie Van Dyke, 16, of Nelson, tries the new pool at the Swim Clinic in Whangaparaoa. Picture / Greg Bowker

New Zealand's top young triathletes tried out the latest training facility in Auckland this week.

Nineteen members of the newly formed youth academy visited Swim Clinic on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula to test the "endless" swimming pool as part of a three-day training camp.

The triathletes used it to improve their technique and see whether the pool should be used by Triathlon New Zealand's high-performance squad.

The pool is a one-person flume, similar to that used by high-performance athletes at Otago University.

The "swimmer's treadmill", as it is often called, has become a very useful tool as it allows swimmers to refine their stroke and make instant corrections to any weaknesses.

Cameron Todd, who at 13 is the youngest member of the squad, enjoyed the experience despite finding it a bit strange at first.

"It's a little bit scary but then it got more and more fun."

The Taupo-Nui-A-Tia College student compares it to swimming into a strong current in a river.

"It will help strengthen me up quite a bit, because you get tired so much faster," he said.

Among the promising New Zealand athletes, junior world duathlon champion Rebecca Spence was also able to benefit from the use of the pool.

Swim Clinic operator Ally Boggs is an enthusiastic supporter and believes the pool is of great use for triathletes, as there are no tumble turns.

"Triathletes don't want to do tumble turns."

The youth academy held the three-day camp at Orewa this week as part of a pathway to the high-performance programme.

All members of the academy will compete in national events this year, with the top 20 taking part in a transtasman series in January.