Posted: March 8, 2005

Multisport: Chris Lieto joins LifeSport

Victoria, British Columbia – Chris Lieto, the 2002 Ironman Wisconsin champion, has signed up for professional coaching services from Lance Watson’s LifeSport Coaching, the Victoria, Canada-based company that specializes in providing world-class coaching to all levels of athletes, both professional and age group.

Watson is a two-time Olympic coach who coached short-course star Simon Whitfield to an Olympic gold medal in 2000 and who currently works with seven-time Ironman champion Lisa Bentley plus ITU star and 2004 Olympian Greg Bennett from Australia. “Chris approached me at Ironman Hawaii in the fall,” says Watson. “He is obviously one of the most talented Ironman athletes in the world but has struggled with injury over the last year. Chris is a front-pack swimmer known for his tremendous cycling ability. We will be working to maintain his power on the bike while developing his run speed.”

“There are several reasons why I really wanted to work with Lance,” says Lieto. “I’ve seen the success he’s had with other athletes, and in talking to him I was impressed by his tremendous depth of knowledge about the sport, particularly his ability to lay out a training schedule and fine-tune fitness before a major race.”

Lieto, 33, began racing triathlon in 1998 and this season plans to race Ralphs California Half Ironman on March 19 before preparing for Ironman Arizona, in April, Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene, in June then the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October. “I had a stress fracture last year,” says Lieto, who comes from a collegiate water-polo background, “but Lance has my fitness progressing extremely well this season.”

A Human Kinetics graduate (with a sport psychology minor), Lance Watson has coached at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games and 2003 Pan American Games. He has been head coach at several national-team events and coached at various Ironman, ITU World Cup and world-championship events. He was named “Triathlon Canada Elite Coach Of The Year” for four consecutive years, from 2000-2003.

LifeSport offers world-class coaching packages designed by Watson and tailored to suit the needs of every athlete, from Ironman champion to first-time triathlete. Visit www.lifesport.ca, e-mail coach@lifesport.ca or call 250-658-9556 for more information.