MATT Pellow is making his hometown proud by going from strength to strength as a professional triathlete.
The 21-year-old athlete began his athletic career at the age of 15 and was back in town for the Western Inter-Club Series Triathlon last month.
Pellow said it felt good to come home and race in front of people who helped make him the triathlete he is today.
He created a new track record at the Western Inter-Club Series Triathlon, scoring 49.57 overall, beating the record by one minute and 35 seconds.
“The race last weekend was the first of the season, and required a lot of training.”
Pellow said he didn’t have a preference in running, cycling or swimming, but would continue with those areas of expertise in the future.
“I learnt alot from my first coach, but I thought it was time for a change at this point in my career.”
The change of focus he said was from draft-legal triathletics to the more Americanised non-drafting form.
Drafting is when a cyclist rides closely behind another rider to make maximum use of their slipstream, reducing the effort required to ride at the same speed.
Pellow now resides in Lennox Head where he will begin intensive training with his new coach Grant Giles.
“I left Dubbo when I was 19 and moved to Woollongong, where I stayed for 18 months,” Pellow said.
He then went to Spain for three-and-a-half months and then to the United States for a month and a half, competing in the Toyota US Open Triathlon in Los Angeles and the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in Malibu.
“The best thing about competing overseas wasn’t winning, it was about the experience,” he said.
“I’ll be heading back to America in May where I’ll be competing in four or five domestic races over there, which would contribute to my training for the the 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas in September.
“My ultimate goal would be the Hawaii Ironman World Championships, but that wouldn’t be for another 5 or 10 years.”
Pellow’s training schedule while in Dubbo has seen him ride, swim and run five hours a day, which would be similar to his new schedule in Lennox Head.
“I would be doing three to four sessions a day, running 20 to 30 kilometres a week, swimming 500 kilometres and riding 100 kilometres,” he said.
The former St John’s College student said being a triathlete was a lifestyle choice, and found it hard to say what he would be doing otherwise.
“If the triathlon didn’t work out, I probably would go to university and gain some qualifications.
“I’m very passionate about being a triathlete though, so it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
He said when he felt the time was right to give up triathlons, he hoped he would have had a successful career, making it easier to find employment.
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