Team Members and Roles
- Founder, Coaching coordinator: Mikael Eriksson
- Coaches: Mikael Eriksson, James Teagle, Lachlan Kerin, David Dhooge, Ailbhe Carroll
- Customer Support Manager: David Dhooge
*This role entails taking care of questions from customers of ready-made training plans. - Podcast Shownotes Editor: Rasmus Svenningson
- Podcast Audio Editor: Cary Jacobs
Mikael Eriksson
Mikael is the Founder and Head Coach of Scientific Triathlon, which he started as a blog in 2015. He started out as a runner, and running was also his first focus once he got into coaching. But as his Mikael shifted his own athletic focus to triathlon, his coaching focus soon followed suit.
As an engineer, Mikael always had a great interest for science and understanding the mechanisms behind endurance performance. If we understand performance at a physiological and biomechanical level, training to improve performance becomes much easier.
However, Mikael strongly believes that the science of training or coaching is only one input to coaching decision-making. The other inputs include the athlete’s feedback and experience, as well as the coach’s anecdotal knowledge and experience.
Mikael enjoys the challenge of finding the balance of getting the biggest possible return-on-investment on training time. This requires carefully considering multiple inputs including the athlete's feedback, objectively measured training response and performance, factors external to training like work and family, and using these inputs to always try to improve training planning. Never believing you have the best answer is the key to keep improving.
More than anything, Mikael emphasises the importance of coach-athlete communication. Without great communication, a coaching relationship can never be fully successful. Triathlon is about so much more than just numbers in a training log. It's also about psychology, confidence, and even productivity and time management. And it is only through ongoing, open and honest conversations between the coach and the athlete that an athlete can reach their peak performance.
Mikael is at full capacity with age-group athletes, and is currently only taking on professionals or aspiring professionals as new athletes.
- Nationality: Finland
- Languages: Swedish (native), English (fluent), Finnish (fluent), Portuguese (basic, but improving), French (basic, and deteriorating)
- Education: Master’s degree (M.Sc., Hons) in engineering (medical physics and technology), Helsinki University of Technology / Aalto University
- Coaching Certification: Finntriathlon Level II, ITCA (International Triathlon Coaching Association)
- Coaching Experience: Started coaching in 2014. Full-time coach since 2017.
- Athletic Accomplishments:
-1st place, Portuguese Olympic Distance National Championships 2020, 30-35 age-group (2nd overall age-grouper)
-1st place 25-29 age-group IRONMAN 70.3 Cascais 2018
-2nd place 25-29 age-group Challenge Lisbon 2019
-IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship qualifier 2019 and 2020
-8th place in Finnish Olympic Distance National Championships 2018.
-1st overall age-grouper Powerman Portugal 2020 (10-60-10 duathlon)
-1st place Finnish Swimrun National Championships 2017 (with team-mate Simon Brierley)
Personalized training adjusted to my routine, goals, and points for improvement
Mikael provides personalized training adjusted to my routine, goals, and most important points for improvement. Being coached by Mikael has been great. I've learned things like the importance of different types of training stimuli, I learned to do the easy training easy enough, and I also learned to consider the psychological aspects when racing.
Coaching has helped me a lot as an athlete and as a person
I was someone that always wanted to go hard all the time, but after I started training with Mikael, we introduced the concepts of consistency and going easy and hard in the right moments. This has helped me a lot as an athlete and also as a person. Coaching has kept me motivated, and the fact that I continue training today even under very difficult situations like moving countries, starting my own business, and the birth of my son is because I had Mikael with me during this journey, always caring and helping me to adapt to these situations with flexibility, empathy, and understanding.
I've loved my time training under Scientific Triathlon!
I started working with Mikael to find more consistency, and have someone to rein me in to avoid injury. Mikael and I worked very well together and have become good friends. I feel I can ask Mikael pretty much any question and be confident that I'll get a good answer. The training program is very thorough, customised to me, and clearly very well thought-through. In our ongoing communication, Mikael is always responsive and attentive. On top of all the quality training and performance improvements, I've learnt so much, adding further returns on my investment. It's been a blast!
Evidence-based and thoughtful coaching with objective and actionable feedback
What I've gained over the last two years being coached by Mikael has been daily evidence-based and thoughtful coaching, balancing performance aspirations, with the inevitable flexibility needed based on a life outside of sport. Equally important has been honest and respectful back-and-forth communication. This includes daily objective and actionable feedback to my training execution. I get detailed explanations on the "why" behind specific sessions. There is an abundance of open discussion. As an athlete I feel like I own the planning process by participating in it throughout the season.
Objectivity, knowledge, and long-term planning
The greatest benefits of being coached by Mikael have been the objectivity, knowledge, and long-term big picture view of planning and programming. Also, Mikael listens to and integrates feedback and thoughts of the athlete into the training. I've had many coaches and know even more. You go above and beyond all of them. Keep it up!
Training adjusted to life, great communication, and better results!
Mikael takes time to get to know not just my athletic goals but how those are seated among my professional and family roles. He helps me realistically adjust training when necessary, so I can relax and enjoy the training rather than spending my own time to create my own plan... and I’m getting better results! I appreciate every bit of positive feedback and teaching about how to do the workout better next time. Mikael’s prompt and clear communication is one of his greatest assets.
Breaking barriers previously thought of as unbreakable
Being coached by Mikael has been highly effective and beneficial, and has allowed me to break barriers previously thought of as unbreakable. The program has detailed and clear instructions, always paired with an explanation of the clear purpose, and the communication is fast, precise, honest and open.
I can trust the process and the program
Having someone with a lot of knowledge helping me towards my goals like Mikael makes me feel confident that I can trust the process and the program. This reduces a lot of stress I would otherwise have, planning the workouts myself. I also appreciate the very good communication.
James Teagle
James is a qualified British Triathlon Level 2 Coach and has been coaching for Scientific Triathlon since early 2018.
James is an elite level triathlete racing on the ITU international Circuit. As such, he has competed among the world’s best at various Elite European and World Championships as a Junior, U23 and Senior. James has had the privilege train alongside some of the world's best athletes including the 2014 Commonwealth Champion, Olympians, IRONMAN Champions and ITU World Series medallists as part of his squad based in Loughborough.
In addition, he has been coached and mentored by some of the world’s best coaches. This has given him a unique insight into what it takes to become the best and experience of the best coaching practices, which gives him a great edge as the coach of performance-driven athletes.
James also excels at coaching athletes at the very beginner level. He has helped athletes that are just starting out in the sport progress rapidly and go from the couch to complete their first races in a short amount of time.
His pragmatic approach and excellent communication and athlete-centred coaching ensure that all of his athletes are in excellent hands.
Working at the East Midlands Regional Academy (part of the British Triathlon development pathway for talented junior and youth athletes) as well as leading and assisting with sessions at the Charnwood Triathlon Club, and Loughborough Students Triathlon Club, are experiences that have helped shape James as a coach and give him valuable in-person coaching experience.
- Nationality: United Kingdom
- Languages: English (native)
- Education: Bachelor degree (B.Sc., Hons) in applied sports science and management, Loughborough University
- Coaching Certification: British Triathlon Federation Level II, Swimming Teacher Level I, Leadership in Sport Qualification, Apprenticeship in sporting excellence.
Coaching Experience: Started coaching in 2013. Joined Scientific Triathlon early 2018 - Athletic Accomplishments:
-Elite level athlete, racing competitively at a world-class level on the draft-legal circuit (International Triathlon Union sanctioned races, like European Cup and World Cup races)
-2nd British Sprint Distance Championships 2018
-3rd British Sprint Duathlon Championships 2018
-1st European U23 Mixed Team Relay Championships 2017
-21st European Olympic Distance Championships 2017
There are no limits or barriers now that training is based on my abilities and science
James is a great coach. He has a deep knowledge and understanding of the sport. Being a top athlete himself he knows all the tricks of the trade and helps filter out what only works on Facebook and what actually works. And he has a great personality, is genuinely interested in his work and makes you feel like an old friend. It feels like there are no limits or barriers now that training is no longer shooting in the dark, but based on my abilities and science.
I feel really fortunate to have a great coach behind me
Three years ago I had never swum laps in a pool (since school days), never owned a bike (again since school), and was only running occasionally. And less than 1.5 years ago I was so fatigued I was napping during the day and could barely manage a slow 5 km run without my heart rate hitting 180 bpm. To think that now since being coached by James I'm feeling great, managing up to 14 hours of training a week, and am soon to attempt a 70.3 is just mindblowing. I feel really fortunate to have a great coach behind me. James' attention to detail in the day-to-day data, as well as his view of longer-term picture has been hugely beneficial to me, and I also really value the consistent communication and support, no matter the time of year or what's going on.
I have had the best year of training in my life!
Since I hired James as a coach I have had the best year of training in my life. I am now able to have bigger aspirations in the sport thanks to him. I couldn't have asked for more. Before getting James as a coach my fitness had plateaued since I was unable to train consistently. James taught me how to properly structure my training and approach it with "minimum effort for maximum adaptation". As a result, I have improved as an athlete and am enjoying triathlon more than ever.
Systematic fitness improvement and more confidence in the process
Being coached by James has helped me improve systematically, spend less time planning and worrying about training, and have more confidence in my training. I used to spend a lot of time preparing and worrying about my next training block, but now that I have James I just think about the execution of training. James can explain every step of the training and adapt it on a weekly basis, which leads to great confidence in the process and fitness improvements.
My training now has the structure I need to progress
Being coached by James is brilliant! He is a very good bloke who I wholeheartedly trust with my training to achieve my goals. With his help my training now has the structure I need to progress, I've learnt that less is more. I used to do a lot of junk miles and was not anywhere near as consistent as I am now.
Lachlan Kerin
Lachie is a Triathlon Australia qualified coach and has been coaching endurance sports throughout the last five years in both the personalised programming sphere as well as the group session environment.
Lachie has been racing as a professional long-course triathlete for the last six years, providing a unique opportunity to train with and race against some of the worlds best athletes across the globe. He has had multiple podiums and top 5’s throughout major events and holds bike course records at Geelong 70.3, Taupo 70.3 and Shanghai 70.3. With over 50 professional half-ironman races as well as a vast racing resume from draft-legal sprint distance to full Ironman, Lachie brings with him a large bank of experience from which to draw upon.
The coaching philosophies that Lachie brings have been shaped through working with some of the best coaches in the world who have allowed him to experience a range of coaching ideas. Lachie, first and foremost, believes that the foundation of any successful coach-athlete relationship is communication and creating an adaptable program that accounts for all the other stressors that an athlete may experience on a daily basis. Furthermore, he believes that coaching is about utilising available data in order to identify trends, measure performance and create goals but also understands that the ‘human’ element of the athlete must always be accounted for in order to ensure the program is a reflection of what is truly best for the athlete.
Lachie is passionate about coaching athletes from all backgrounds and skill levels having worked with juniors, beginners and performance driven athletes. Through his work in the squad setting, Lachie has been able to develop a diverse coaching skillset that allows him to be confident in working with athletes of all ages and skill levels. Having experienced the requirements of professional long-course racing, Lachie is also passionate about working with athletes who may be aiming to qualify for world championship events, compete at the front of their age-group or are aiming to turn professional.
Lachie also has a Bachelor of Commerce and is currently completing his Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science.
- Nationality: Australian
- Languages: English (native)
- Education: Bachelor Degree Commerce (Deakin University), currently studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science (University of New England) via correspondance
- Coaching Certification: Triathlon Australia Certified Coach
- Coaching Experience: Personalised coaching with a range of athletes over the last 5 years. Coached swimming at Powerpoints Masters squad and I4 Triathlon, coached cycling at Caulfield Grammar School, coached cycling at SpinLabs (Watt Bike sessions).
- Athletic Accomplishments:
-Professional triathlete since 2013
-Bike course records – Geelong 70.3, Taupo 70.3, Shanghai 70.3
-3rd place – Challenge Shepparton 2016
-4th – Huskisson Long Course 2017
-4th – Challenge Shepparton 2018
-5th place – Challenge Asia Pacific-Champs 2017
-6th Place – Ironman Busselton 2018
-6th place – Geelong 70.3 2018
Ready for an Ironman
Lachie is an excellent coach for me! I signed up to get ready for an Ironman, and the plan with great planning of workouts, effort levels, and periodization has got my fitness to a level where I feel that I am ready.
Invaluable advice, feedback, and improvement in all three disciplines!
Lachie has helped me improve in all sports, and I can see and understand the rationale of the plan. I had a coach before, but I find Lachie more experienced and his advice is invaluable. I'm always getting feedback on workouts and the fact that Lachie is a professional triathlete himself also generates some invaluable tips.
More focused, individualized training and better communication!
With coach Lachie I'm getting a training plan that is more focused around my individual circumstances and better communication (quick responses and independent follow-up) than with my previous coach, which is exactly what I was looking for from this coaching relationship.
Knowledge, purpose, and feedback
Coach Lachie is great! The greatest benefits are his knowledge and his ability to explain my training (i.e. the reason/purpose behind workouts), and I also like that fact that he knows what the workouts he gives me are supposed to "feel" like. Also, the feedback that Lachie gives me about most of my workouts in Training Peaks and our coaching calls have been invaluable to me as an athlete.
Consistency and accountability
I'm really enjoying the process of training and being coached with Lachie. The consistency and accountability it has brought to my training have helped me a lot as an athlete, and not having to think about exactly what I need to do in training is highly beneficial.
Exceeded my expectations!
Being coached by Lachie has exceeded my expectations! The plan is very personalised and high touch, and I have much more variety in training than before. Also, now I no longer have to spend hours researching training methods and session ideas, Lachie does it all for me and tailors the workout guidance and power and heart rate targets to me specifically.
Professional, personal and adaptable
Lachie's coaching is professional and feels like an exclusive and personal experience. He has helped me to remain injury-free and to really look at the long term goal and work towards that, which reduces stress from one-off bad days and the temptation of doing too hard workouts. Lachie adapts the program, volume and intensity to life circumstances like family and travel, and I've really benefited from the feedback on every workout and explanations about why we're doing a certain workout.
The best coach I've had so far in my triathlon career!
I've had several coaches before Lachie and this was the first time I felt like I had a professional, knowledgeable coach who also really cares about what I'm doing. I felt right from the start that Lachie knew what he was talking about and he explained why we were doing certain things. He also helped me lose the mentality of just doing more and more, and got me just as fit and strong on 4 hours less training per week. I was very happy with the communication too. We exchanged lots of texts and emails, and he was only too happy to chat on the phone if that's what I wanted.
Knowledge, communication, responsiveness and flexibility
I came at this coaching relationship with a strong desire to improve my knowledge and understanding of the sport, physiology, key performance metrics, use of equipment such as power meters, and Lachie's approach and guidance and support with respect to these is very solid, which has resulted in great improvement in my own knowledge and confidence. Lachie is also very responsive and communicative and he is happy to amend schedules at short notice, which is appreciated and pretty important when life regularly gets in the way of training.
Big investment but worth it!
Coaching is a big investment, but it's worth it. I love the program I get from Lachie, it is very flexible and it has helped me avoid overtraining and injury. You guys are awesome, glad to be working with you!
David Dhooge
David is a driven Belgian coach and triathlete living in the south of France. With over 12 years of experience he coaches athletes of all levels to achieve their goals. As well as being on our coaching team, David is also the Customer Support Manager of Scientific Triathlon.
David has plenty of personal experience in short and long distance triathlon, and has qualified for and participated in both the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships. Being coached by a multiple Ironman World Championship winner Luc van Lierde for several years has given David great insights in triathlon performance and development and greatly improved his coaching skills.
Communication is key for David. This allows him to understand the athlete's individual needs and to adjust the training plans accordingly to achieve and exceed their goals.
- Nationality: Belgium (currently living in France)
- Languages: Dutch (native), English (fluent), French (fluent), German (basic)
- Education: Master’s degree in Criminology (Ghent University)
- Coaching Certification: Brevet Fédéral Triathlon 5 (FFTRI – Fédération Française Triathlon)
- Coaching Experience: Started coaching in 2014. Full-time coach since 2015.
- Athletic Accomplishments:
-262th place (next time a lot better...): IRONMAN World Championship Kona, Hawaii 2019
-15th overall, 3rd AG 35-39: National French Championships Half Distance 2019
-1st place: Olympic Distance Revel, France
-12th overall, 3rd AG 35-39: Ironman Malaysia 2018 (Qualification for IRONMAN World Championships)
-5th overall and best marathon, 3rd AG 35-39: Extreme triathlon Altriman Pyrenees, full distance (5000+ meters elevation gain bike, 800+ meters elevation gain run)
-9th overall, 2nd AG 35-39: Frenchman full distance
-Ironman 70.3 World Championships Zell am See, Austria 2015
Extremely positive coaching experience with continued progress in all three disciplines!
Working with David has been an extremely positive coaching experience for me and helped me make continued progress in all three disciplines throughout the season. David is really great about talking about the plan for the next block of training along with the "why" and how it relates to the overall structure/goal for the season. He uses his knowledge, data and science, and the athlete's feedback to create a plan that works on the areas that will be most impactful for a particular athlete to improve. He's also always available if I have any questions.
"A completely different experience"
My coaching relationship with David is my second experience with remote coaching. My previous experience was called "individual coaching" but it was just a weekly training program coming from a workout database. Working with David is a completely different experience. David knows me and understands how I respond to training and how to manage my training load to avoid injuries and overtraining. He always wants to learn more and understand every detail that can help me improve as a runner. I've been working with David for about two years now, and am in it for the long haul, with the goal of eventually doing a full Ironman.
Ailbhe Carroll
Ailbhe is a qualified coach across a range of sports including triathlon, swimming, and athletics. Having studied sports science for her undergraduate degree she has a vast knowledge in the application of science within triathlon. She has coached a range of different ages and abilities from school age children right through to highly competitive age group adults. Her experience and passion for the sport shape her delivery and allow her to provide a world class service.
Ailbhe is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Sports and Exercise nutrition to further broaden her level of knowledge, allowing her to deliver a very well-rounded coaching package. She is also part of a High-Performance Coaching programme with Triathlon Ireland, which provides a select number of coaches involved with a very unique experience. The year long programme provides coaches with a unique experience to focus on their coaching values, their expectations and to enhance their communication style and skill sets.
Ailbhe is an elite level triathlete herself on the ITU circuit and have raced against some of the world’s best short course athletes. She has competed at European and World cup level, with an appearance at the Elite Multi-sport World Championships in 2019. Ailbhe has trained all over the world alongside some of the sports best.
Ailbhe’s coaching philosophy has been shaped through her own athletic career. She has learnt from her own experiences and taken these lessons forward into her own coaching. Ailbhe emphasises making sure the person behind the athlete always comes first. A happy person makes for a better athlete. Ailbhe has a keen interest in female athlete health and performance, and she continues to explore this area in her academic studies.
Ailbhe applies an integrated approach to her coaching style, taking all aspects of work, life and sport into account for each athlete. This allows her to tailor an individual and adaptable programme for each of her athletes.
- Nationality: Irish
- Languages: English (native), German (basic, and deteriorating)
- Education: BSc in Sports and Exercise Sciences from University of Limerick, Level 3 VCTC Diploma in Sports Massage from Loughborough College, MSc in Sports and Exercise Nutrition from IT Sligo (in progress).
- Coaching Experience: Started coaching in 2012. Joined Scientific Triathlon in 2021.
- Athletic Accomplishments:
-2nd Sprint Distance National Championships 2019
-2nd Olympic Distance National Championships 2019
-11th Elite Aquathon World Championships 2019
-1st Aquathon National Championships 2018
-3rd Sprint Distance National Championships 2018
-1st National Cat 1 Series 2017
-26th Hong Kong Asian Cup 2019
-37th Tongyeong World Cup 2019
Join the team
If you have something to offer and want to join the team, please reach out and let's discuss. In particular, we are always open to accepting exceptional coaches on board. Please note that we have a very high bar for what is required to join the team, so apply only if you really think you can bring exceptional skills to the table.