He may be the undisputed king of PTVI Para Triathlon with a string of Paralympic and World titles to his name, but Dave Ellis insists his hunger and desire for more success have never been stronger.
In what is likely to send chills down the spines of his rivals, the 39-year-old British athlete admits that his goal is to win as many medals as possible before age – and the chasing pack – catch up with him.
As he lines up in Wollongong, Australia, this weekend, looking to secure what would be an eighth Para Triathlon World Championship and fifth title on the bounce, he is more determined than ever to finish what has been another dominant Para Triathlon season by securing 2025’s ultimate prize.
The world number one – who has an incredible record of 53 podium finishes and 46 wins from his 58 races since 2013 – once again sits at the top of the World Championship rankings as he looks to seal the deal with a strong showing on the New South Wales coast this Saturday.
Rivals looking for revenge
With 1,250 points awarded to the winner, Ellis knows he cannot afford to be complacent as the likes of Antoine Perel (B1) and Thibaut Rigaudeau (B3) wait in the wings for any kind of slip-up. Having both been on the podium with Ellis for last year’s Worlds and Paris Olympics, they will no doubt be all the more determined to challenge for gold this time around.
But while Ellis recognises the obvious danger from his very familiar rivals, he believes there is another threat on the horizon from Serbian Lazar Filipovic, who has recently shot to prominence after a re-classification of his impairment saw him moved from a B2/B3 athlete to a B1 – he has finished second to Ellis in their last two series races at Tata and Alhandra.
Athletes who are totally blind (PTVI1) start first, followed by the partially sighted athletes (PTVI2/ PTVI3), but compete in one single medal event – first across the line. For the Men, this offset is 2 minutes, 51 seconds, meaning Ellis will have some catching up to do.
“I think it could be a bit more of an interesting race this year, because one of the other lads in the field, Lazar, has literally just been classified as a B1 this year and had been racing B2, B3 since 2012,” said Ellis. “He’s been around a while, and he was pretty decent, like mid-pack, while he was a B2/B3 athlete, and now he’s B1, so he’s got a nice little head start. I think he’ll definitely be one to add into the mix, and I think my first priority will be chasing him and Antoine Perel down.
“He has had a couple of good races recently, and it will certainly be interesting this weekend. Hopefully, I can catch them at some point in the run and take the lead… well, hopefully!
Hunger remains for more glory
“But the hunger’s still there in terms of winning more medals and titles. I think I’m getting on a bit now, so I will happily take as many medals as I can until they start beating me… and I know that day will come at some point.”
Ellis, who competes with his long-term guide Luke Pollard, has come a long way since winning his first World title in 2013, and he arrived in Wollongong this week feeling a lot more relaxed than he would have felt in those early years.
“It’s definitely different,” he admitted. “I was a lot more nervous before. It’s different now. I feel like I’ve got more experience and just not quite as much pressure.
“Last year it was a little bit different with the Paralympics, but then the main objective was already achieved before the Worlds, so it was more a case of can I just go out and enjoy it? In the end, it all kind of took care of itself.
“You obviously always want to win the Worlds, and it’s the biggest priority of the year, but it’s not like you only get one shot every four years, so it’s not the same kind of pressure that is associated with the Paralympics.”
With long-term partner and fellow para-triathlete Claire Cashmore expecting their first baby at the start of December, Ellis delayed his departure from the UK by a few days so that he could stay with her as long as possible.
Now fully acclimatised and raring to go, few would be brave enough to bet against him celebrating upcoming the birth of his child by securing another World Championship title and picking up yet another elite gold medal of his incredible career.
You can watch all the action from the World Triathlon Championships across the World Triathlon channels and tune in to WTCS Wollongong on TriathlonLive, with the PTVI1 men due to start at 8.10am on Saturday.
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