Leapin’ Leon

One-on-one with Australia’s newest world champ, Leon Griffin

rom the outset, Leon Griffin looks like any other skinny kid mixing it up with the pros. He’s got long legs, square shoulders and a cheeky, animated grin. Stir the surface however and you’ll discover a talented 26-year-old with an attitude that’s as tough as nails and the makings of a long-term champion.

Under the guidance of former duathlon world champion Jono Hall, Griffin recently embarked on his first season overseas as a pro. His results so far have been remarkable, and his first major scalp – the world duathlon title – has surprised everyone.

We caught up with Griffin as he travelled to Switzerland for the Geneva ITU European Cup Triathlon.

TMSM: Leon, this is the first season you’ve headed overseas to race and you’ve scored yourself a world championship title. How did that happen?

LG: Yes, it’s almost as much a surprise to me as everyone else by the sounds of it! Maybe that was a blessing in disguise as I didn’t put any pressure on myself to come out on top. I certainly thought I could improve on last year’s fifth placing (at the duathlon worlds), maybe sneak a medal if I was lucky, but as it turned out I put everything on the line in the race, took the initiative and made the winning break half-way through. I guess fortune favours the brave – sometimes it works, others it doesn’t. But you will never know unless you try.

Your form going into the Worlds was promising – second at the New York Triathlon, third at Blackwater Eagleman 70.3, third at Mexico 70.3 – what were your expectations for the race?

My expectations were just to improve on last year’s fifth placing in Newcastle. I’m all about improving slowly, I used to be very impatient when I was younger and as you get older (not that I’m getting old by any means) you’re just happy to improve on your last outing. Duathlons suit me better but I rarely race them as they are harder on the body than triathlon, and not so rewarding financially. So I have to focus on triathlon.

I honestly thought I could sneak a medal, I had that much belief, but my coach Jono Hall instilled a little more confidence than I probably could have and every session we did whilst in Boulder, Colorado, he told me I could win it and beat those guys to the world title. He was the last Australian to win one so I guess that was some validation for him saying that to me –I figured he knew what it took so I may as well put my trust in him.