Bacchus Marsh teen Jye Burton was seven when he started swimming. He loved the feeling of being in the water, but the monotony of the sport was starting to wear him thin.
Two years ago, the 14-year-old decided to spice things up a little. He tried out triathlon, and hasn’t looked back since.
“Because I got a mixture of three different sports, it helped me enjoy swimming again,” Jye says.
Jye, a Bacchus Marsh Grammar student, will be one of only six Victorians representing the state at the Australian Schools Triathlon Festival championships in New South Wales next month.
Jye has only been competiting in triathlons for just over a year and was surprised by his selection. But in preparation he’s been training about 16 hours per week with the help of one of his inspirations – his coach Sam Stewart.
“He trains really hard with me and that inspires me to do the best I can,” he says.