6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Jamie Whitmore

Jamie Whitmore - XTERRA USA National Championship, 2011

XTERRA World Champion. 5 time XTERRA USA National Champion. Mother of twins. Cancer survivor. The word “inspiring” gets thrown around too easily these days. But there is no other way to describe Jamie Whitmore. The winner of an XTERRA World Championship & 5 XTERRA National Championship, life was looking great for Jamie Whitmore until the [...]

18 Again: What Top Athletes Wished They Knew at 18

Celebrating the 1st birthday of the 6-5-1@SPARTA interview series!

Take a moment & think back to when you were 18. What were you doing? What did you think you would be doing with your life? How different are you from the person you were at 18? For many of us, life unfolds very differently from how we imagined it would. It certainly has for [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Leanda Cave

Leanda Cave Ironman Arizona 2011

Edit ~ Oct 2012: she’s done it again! Leanda is now the 2012 Ironman World Champion after winning at Kona this month, making her a 5 time World Champ. Congrats Leanda x Edit ~ Sept 2012: since this post was published, Leanda went onto the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas in 2012, making [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Benita Willis

Benita Willis | Saucony sponsored athlete

The winner of the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championship (the last non-African to achieve this feat), Benita Willis is one of Australia’s greatest ever middle distance runners. She holds the Commonwealth Record for the marathon as well as the Australian record for the 2km, 3km, 5km 10km & marathon. Over the years, Benita has [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Melissa Hauschildt

Melissa Rollinson 70.3 Triathlon World Champion

It is hard to believe that the triathlon career of the reigning Ironman 70.3 World Champion Melissa Hauschildt (nee Rollison) only began in mid-2010. She may have burst onto the triathlon scene from nowhere but Melissa was no stranger to those of us (myself included) who follow Australian athletics. A Commonwealth Games silver medallist with multiple [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Coach Troy

Coach Troy Jacobson Ironman Triathlon

“Coach Troy” is a name that is synonymous with triathlon & cycling coaching around the world. I suspect that there are few out there who have not had the ‘pleasure’ of training with Troy through his highly successful Spinervals series of cycling workouts. Troy Jacobson has been coaching endurance athletes since 1992. Since that time he is widely [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Mirinda Carfrae

Mirinda Carfrae | 2010 Ironman World Champion

Uber excited about this interview! There is very little I can say that has not already been said about Mirinda Carfrae. She (seemingly) burst onto the scene in 2007 when she won the 70.3 (Half Ironman) World Championship. 2 years later she stepped up and finished 2nd in her first Ironman race – breaking the run course [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA interview with Martin Fryer

Ultra marathon runner Martin Fryer

Aside from being: a biomedical scientist employed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia (where he is involved in assessing the scientific data supporting the marketing of new prescription medicines), an accomplished tennis player & coach, National-ranked skydiver (with over 900 jumps!) and husband & father, Dr Martin Fryer is the one of the best of [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA: interview with Michelle Wu

Michelle Wu

A pint sized pocket rocket with a killer run leg, Michelle Wu, is well known to those who follow triathlon in Australia. After taking up the sport in 2004, Michelle enjoyed a speedy rise up the amateur ranks which culminated in her winning the World Age Group Championships in Vancouver, Canada in 2008. Michelle turned professional [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA: interview with Conrad Stoltz

Conrad Stoltz XTERRA Champion bike

 I am uber-excited about this interview. They call him “The Caveman”. He is a 6ft 3′ caveman trapped in the body of a triathlete. Conrad Stoltz has had – and continues to have – an extraordinary career. An Olympian, a 4 x time XTERRA World Champion (off-road triathlons) & with in excess of 40 XTERRA [...]

6-5-1 @ SPARTA: interview with Jordan Rapp

Jordan Rapp

All of the people we have highlighted in our 6-5-1 @ SPARTA interview series have had remarkable stories. But Jordan Rapp‘s journey is a lesson for all of us in perserverence & determination. Jordan is a graduate from the highly esteemed Princeton University in the USA in mechanical & aerospace engineering who only took up [...]

6-5-1 @ SPARTA: interview with Annabel Luxford

Welcome to our latest instalment of 6-5-1 @ SPARTA – our monthly feature where we chat with someone who has achieved success in their chosen sport to get a bit of an insight about what motivates them & what has contributed to their success. If you’ve been injured, you will relate to the story of [...]

6-5-1@SPARTA: interview with Keith Bateman

Keith Bateman

How fast do you run 10kms? How fast would you like to run 10kms when you are 55+ years of age? How does 31mins 51 sec sound? Meet Keith Bateman – our next interview in the 6-5-1 @ SPARTA series – who holds not 1 but 4 age group world records on the track. Keith [...]

6-5-1 @ SPARTA: interview with Lisa Marangon

Lisa Marangon by Delly Carr

Welcome to our latest instalment of 6-5-1 @ SPARTA – our monthly feature where we chat with someone who has achieved success in their chosen sport to get a bit of an insight about what motivates them & what has contributed to their success. This month I am pleased to be able to introduce you [...]

6-5-1 @ SPARTA: interview with Trent Chapman

Trent Chapman Ironman Australia

To kick off our 6-5-1 @ SPARTA monthly interview feature, let me introduce you to the current Australian Ironman Champion, Trent Chapman. Trent is a former professional triathlete who was ranked as high as 7th in the world triathlon rankings before he retired from the sport a decade ago. He recently rediscovered his love of [...]