National triathlon champion Clarence Tobias will leave T&T next week for Australia and New Zealand where he will compete in three of the world's most prestigious multi sport distance challenges over the next three months. He will enter the 243km Speight's World multi sport Championships on New Zealand's South Island on February 11 and 12, the Anaconda Adventure Races (AAR) Coastal Clash in Perth, Australia on March 26 and 27 and the 111km AAR Forster Adventure Race on April 16 and 17.
The 37-year-old, affectionately known as "Toco Toby", debuted in the Speight's event in 2008 where he placed 147th out of 800 entrants in 15 hours, 57 minutes and 56 seconds. It was the best ever clocking by a first timer and he was rewarded with the coveted Guts and Glory prize for most persistent newcomer.
During a press conference arranged by his sponsor Suez Energy at Jaffer Restaurant in St Clair yesterday, Tobias said that his main focus upon arriving in New Zealand would be to get his body adjusted to the conditions.
"My personal goal is to place in the top 15 but I am not in 100 per cent physical condition right now. I still need to acclimatise to the conditions across there but I won't have enough time, unfortunately, to get as much experience on the rivers and trails as I would have liked. You can prepare as much as you can physically and mentally in T&T, but when you get down there it's totally different." Tobias added that he will live and train with top Australia multi sport athlete Gerard Cola during his trip.
His other accomplishments include winning the local Tropical Power Coast 2 Coast Adventure Race in 2009 and 2010, the Central American Duathlon in Puerto Rico in 2009, and the Eco Adventures Off Road Triathlon in 2009. He was also nominated for the First Citizens Sports Foundation's Sportsman of the Year Award by the T&T Triathlon Federation that same year.
