At the second issue of our digital magazine we had an exclusive interview from Amanda Stevens, a rising star at the half and full Ironman distances. Amanda was very friendly and she has given us tips useful for triathletes of all levels. Her interview will appear again oat one of our next english issues.
Amanda was born in Enid, Oklahoma. She grew up in a family of swimmers and competed in her first race at the age of 3. Since that first race, Amanda participated in several sports throughout her school years including the well known Ironkids Triathlon series. However, during this time swimming was her main focus. She was a natural born competitor and by the age of 14 was swimming on the National Level, posting fast times in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke and 200 and 400 Individual Medley.
After graduating from Enid High School as Oklahoma State Swimmer of the year, she earned a scholarship to swim at Texas Christian University (TCU). While at TCU Amanda had a stand-out swimming career where she studied pre-med, completing a double degree in Biology and Chemistry. Following her tenure at TCU, Amanda continued her education at the University of Oklahoma Medical School. It was the following summer that Amanda competed in her first triathlon in Bixby, OK as an adult. Looking back this is where her love for triathlon began. By winning the Bixby Triathlon, Amanda earned a spot to compete in the USA Triathlon National Championship. She showed up at the race as a complete unknown and surprised everyone by winning an age-group National title and securing her spot on the World Team. In 2002, Amanda represented Team USA in Cancun, Mexico at the ITU Age-Group World Championships. Amanda won her age group earning her first World Title. Amanda moved forward into the professional ranks in 2003 and took on racing on the ITU Circuit and competed in both the 2004 and 2008 USA Olympic Trials. It was after the 2008 Trials that Amanda raced her 1st 70.3 Ironman event and discovered a new love for endurance sports. After several top 5 finishes, Amanda captured her 1st 70.3 title in Cancun, Mexico. Amanda has shown steady improvement at the 70.3 Ironman World Championships by placing as high as 4th overall in 2010. Two weeks later Amanda did her first full iron distance race at Ironman Cozumel and came in 3rd overall. Amanda’s new focus is Kona 2011.
TriathlonWorld : What is the secret for someone that wants to be successful in 70.3 races? e.g Be a strong cyclist, have the speed in all disciplines, do a lot of races, have a good background in ITU drafting legal races…
Amanda Stevens : The secret to success at the Ironman 70.3 or anything in life, is to have a definite goal and a plan to get yourself there. Since 70.3 races are long distance it is important to have a good endurance base and some race experience at shorter races. With distances longer than Olympic, you have an added component: nutrition. The longer the races, the more important nutrition becomes. Most triathletes have full-time jobs outside of the sport, family, and a life to balance. I encourage my athletes to put family first and then fit in as much training as their lives allow.
