Bex Milnes, Rhys Davey, Mark Buckingham and Scott Murray have been named as the coaches that will support Team England’s triathlon team for next year’s Commonwealth Games.
Milnes and Davey have been named as joint head coaches and bring their wealth of experience of being lead coaches within British Triathlon Performance Centres.
Milnes, who was recently named on the UK Sport female coach leadership programme, leads the paratriathlon centre in Loughborough where she works with paratriathletes as they prepare for world, European and Paralympic racing.
Based in Bath, Davey oversees the coaching of athletes from across the performance landscape. As head coach of the Bath Performance Centre, he works with up-and-coming student athletes as well as the likes of Olympic bronze medallist Vicky Holland and Michael Taylor who are also based at the centre.
The English team for the Games in 2022 will be a combined one which incorporates triathletes and paratriathletes from across the country.
Supporting the head coaches in ensuring the multi-discipline team are ready to race in Birmingham are Buckingham and Murray, whose experiences across the sport will be invaluable in supporting a squad of athletes for the Games.
No stranger to international racing, Buckingham has represented Great Britain as an athlete and has also competed as a guide for paratriathlete Dave Ellis. Since retiring from racing, Buckingham has been involved in the coaching set up at the British Triathlon Performance Centre in Leeds and is a part of UK Sport’s athlete to coach programme.
Murray from Hampshire is the head coach at the South Central Regional Academy where he works with the region’s top young athletes as they begin their journeys on the British Triathlon pathway. In his role, he leads on training camps and in preparing athletes for races and competitions with ‘at-home’ support throughout the year.
England are the most successful triathlon nation at the Commonwealth Games winning five gold, three silver and one bronze medal, with the four coaches, under the guidance of triathlon team leader Jonathon Riall, responsible for preparing the as yet undecided team of athletes in a bid to extend this on home soil.
The 2022 Games will see men’s, women’s and mixed relay triathlon and men’s and women’s PTVI paratriathlon for visually impaired athletes take place in Sutton Park on 29 and 31 July 2022.
Following her selection as joint head coach, Milnes said: “This is a really exciting opportunity and I can’t wait to be involved in a home Games and supporting the other coaches to shape the best team for Birmingham 2022.
“I’m also really looking forward to being part of a team that brings paratriathletes and triathletes together as one and think it’ll be a great chance for paratriathlon to be showcased to wider audiences across the country.”
Davey, who will be part of a team for a major games for the first time, said: “This experience of being able to directly support a team of athletes and coaches from across England to be ready to race at the Commonwealth Games is one I’m really looking forward to.
“I work with top triathletes and paratriathletes in Bath and I’m hoping to use what I know to support the team for next year and what I learn to develop the athletes in Bath even more. ”
Triathlon team leader for Birmingham 2022, Jonathon Riall, said of the four coaches selected: “I am both personally and professional delighted to be able to welcome Bex, Rhys, Mark and Scott into the Commonwealth Games England triathlon team as the four coaches who will collectively lead the team into our home games in Sutton Park next year.
“The breadth of this team in terms of experience but also the amount of the triathlon pathway they cover, from Regional Academy through to World Class Programme across all of England’s main performance centres gives a wonderful opportunity for the team to develop upon and will ensure we as Team England are absolutely best prepared.
“I want to congratulate each of them individually as we set out to deliver a team that will hopefully bring great results and make the wider England triathlon family proud.”
Team England Chef de Mission, Mark England said:
“I’d like to welcome and congratulate the coaches selected to the team. Triathlon is a sport in which we have such a rich history and previous success and I’m sure this coaching team, with Jonathon Riall at the helm, will do all they can to best prepare their athletes to excel on home soil.”
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