Bachelor of Triathlon

It’s only thanks to his desire for a cool piece of sports equipment that Courtney Atkinson became a triathlete. But it’s his determined professionalism that has made him one of the best in the world.

He’s good-looking, intelligent and witty. But above all, he’s successful–and conspicuously so. Courtney Atkinson was 17 when he was first referred to as a “legend”. Now, at a mere 26, he can look back on an impressive career in a sport in which many first hit their stride in their thirties. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 he was Australia’s Triathlete of the Year, naturally winning the Australian Triathlon Championship all three years. He won four consecutive Australian Junior Triathlon Championships from 1996 to 1999. He’s also made a splash in the international scene by taking first at the 2002 Tokyo International, the 2003 Miyagi International and the 2005 ITU Ishigaki World Cup. Accomplishments like these don’t just magically appear. The explanation for his list of accolades: Courtney trains with impressive tenacity. Six times a week he swims, bikes and runs from seven to three o’clock. “It’s my job”, he says.

Drive and Determination

When Courtney abandons his proverbial drive for the finish, then it’s not in the figurative but rather the literal sense. Once during a triathlon, he got a bit turned around. It took him a while to realize his mistake, namely “as all the other athletes came running toward me”. Anecdotal slips like this one are the exception. At any rate, Courtney lives his life away from sports with an equal drive and determination, a fact to which his Bachelor of Commerce from the Bond University Queensland can attest, for instance.

Toughness and Willpower

The genesis of a rather unique triathlon career was comparatively speaking unremarkable. “I just wanted to have a cool bike like my friend’s, who was already competing in triathlon races back then."
The desire for a rad set of wheels was satisfied. Meanwhile, Courtney’s motivational structure looks a bit more philosophical: what fascinates him most about the triathlon is its long-term aspect. There aren’t any flash-in-the-pans here; it’s a continual overcoming of limits, of one’s own weakness, of the long distances. A question of toughness, of willpower.