It was a whirlwind few weeks for Koa Sports athletes and coaches around the world, including the successful defence of both Sunshine Coast and Western Sydney 70.3 crowns, making it back-to-back titles as a club, pushing the trophy cabinet out to 15. We reflect on all that the riff has to offer, plus catching up with Koa Sports M18-24 AG Champion Ben Barby from WS. With two feet firmly planted Tim shares a draft acceptance speech and invites feedback, and Greg continues to push back towards 150 in time for his pedal around Cambodia. Spring has the Australian racing calendar in full swing…. LFG! Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
As the team recovers from its Sunshine Coast 70.3 triumph, there is no rest for the wicked, as Western Sydney, Belgrade, Maryland, and Cozumel play host to a raft of Koa Sports athletes ready to launch! We are joined by National Boxing Superstar Lachlan Rose, who will be on debut at Western Sydney 70.3 for Koa Sports. What make him more nervous, stepping into the ring or stepping into the 70.3? Tim and Lachie share some great stories around the technique and history of boxing, both students of the sport. Greg is taking control of a tour of Western Sydney, if this is our last ever episode.. take care…. It’s been a great ride! Go Red www.koasports.com.au
Pete Murray joins us in the Koa Sports Studio for the first time fresh off his Sydney Marathon World Major Race Call, getting selfies with Bruce and Kipchoge, Pete just got swept up in it all! Plenty of laughs as we rewrite Australian triathlon history and look forward to a bumper few weeks of racing with the IRONMAN World Championships in Nice, Sunshine Coast and Western Sydney 70.3. Did you know Qantas has an alcohol curfew of 11am… outrageous! Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
As in 2024, Coach Tim was invited back (much to our surprise) by IRONMAN to brief athletes in the course for the IRONMAN World Championships this time in Nice, France, alongside kiwi counterpart Rob Dallimore. A detailed look at race week and race day, plus some questions from the recorded audience following. If you’re racing, be sure you’ll get some handy coaching insights. With the IRONMAN World Championships returning to Kona as a single day from 2026, this will be the last IRONMAN outside the big island for both men and women. Thanks to the team at IRONMAN for the opportunity once again. Ohana. Join the tribe. www.koasports.com.au
After the bye week, we are back and refreshed ready to take on the remainder of 2025 and the racing calendar is stacked across the endurance world! Constructive feedback is the life of a coach, and we always have plenty for others and ourselves, it’s a two-way street. Clayonti Fettilaniece joins us from a sodden Ballina and hands the phone to an IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, what a boon! Not sure when Greg is starting his breaking 85 journey, but we can be sure it hasn’t started just yet. Join the tribe. www.koasports.com.au
It was a week for the popcorn eaters this week on socials, a nasty break up in the world of Triathlon, more to follow we suspect! Greg ruins his track record and has a nasty public encounter on two wheels, and he was doing so well. These things happen and we hope just a minor setback on his road to peace and tranquillity. Tim has increased his social media by 3000%, no doubt will lose interest and return to his ‘hermit’ lifestyle soon enough. City to Surf, Cebu 70.3 and much more! Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
No better way to warm up those cold and dark southern hemisphere mornings than the Koa Sports Podcast. Nothing is off the table in this week’s episode, and we stick to our golden rule of politics and sport should never mix. A phone call from the world’s most powerful politician, is it AI or legit? You decide! The Busso Beer Mile collab is locked in, Greg talks about his behavioural changes on the road as a cyclist, perhaps he is starting to hit puberty? All that and more. Zoot store closes in a few days, get in! https://custom.zootsports.com/KoaSports27710
Doug Vargo the CEO of Zoot Sports joins us on the Koa Sports Podcast, an Aussie leading the charge for the most dominant brand in Triathlon Apparel globally by some margin! They’ve undergone some recent changes and are now (again) the Official Partner of IRONMAN for Season 2025 and beyond. With an IRONMAN TriClub boasting over 6,500 members worldwide (12x Koa Sports), we chat about the program and how being the “Pride of Jenni” fits for their brand moving forward. Not without plenty of hot topics, fishing, Costa Rica, ayahuasca, Collingwood and what’s a podcast without a good bet! The Koa Sports Zoot Store is OPEN, check it out today, closes soon. https://custom.zootsports.com/KoaSports27710 Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
Claytonalia Fettallienae joins us as he prepares to take on the Queenstown slopes and like all parents survives the school holidays. What has the king been up to? Greg is locked in for Langkawi IRONMAN, but is choosing to take a different route to arrive on the island, a monsoon season bike ride through Southeast Asia and he fights his way to Break 85 by IRONMAN Busselton in December, he doesn’t appear to have left the starters gates just yet? Concerns? Doping Bans, Le Tour, New Points System for the IRONMAN TriClub program, just some of the topics on this week’s episode. The ZOOT X KOA SPORTS store is OPEN! Zoot Sports - Koa Sports Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
EXCLUSIVE never before seen footage of Greg McDermott cutting up the d-floor circa 1993, and we hate to admit it…. the kid could dance! There are two ways you can look at this story, what an amazing skill or what a waste of talent. It’s marathon season and coach Tim Franklin joins us in the studio to chat about his own marathon experience from the Gold Coast and also the 14,000 others! Also shares a few more stories from his Run Around the World. For those athletes in the Southern Hemisphere looking to take this season up a notch, it’s the season of gains, for those athletes in the north, it’s race time! Join the tribe. www.koasports.com.au
IRONMAN has updated its age group qualifying process for both the IRONMAN and 70.3 World Championship events from 2026 onwards, and there is much to unpack and understand. As the #1 ranked coaching service in Kona 2024 we try to explain how it all works and even simulate some recent races to better explain how it would look. Why? ‘Based on athlete feedback and our own due diligence, we believe the new approach is even more consistent with our principle that the most competitive athletes are recognized and rewarded with qualifying slots. In the prior system, qualifying slots rolled down within gender and age group, and the number of slots allocated to each gender and age group was based on how many people were racing within that gender and age group. In some cases, highly competitive athletes were unable to earn a slot because their age group or gender was under-represented in a race. In contrast, some athletes who were less competitive relative to their age group would earn a slot because their age group was over-represented and thus had more slots allocated to it. In the new system, we rank athletes based on their relative performance (vs. their age-group), and irrespective of age or gender, the most competitive athletes on race day receive qualifying slots until all available slots for that race are claimed.’ Do we like it? Listen to find out. Join the Tribe www.koasports.com.au
It was a bumpy 100, but we got there in the end. A few edges to slips, dropped in the deep and a couple of monster sixes! On this episode we are joined by a Rugby League Immortal and step through the highlights from the last 100 episodes, like the sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives. Plus, a new intro tune! Feedback? Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
A significant change for the IRONMAN Oceania race calendar in 2026. IRONMAN Australia has moved from May to October and Western Sydney from September to May. What does the mean? How will the coaches get from Kona to Port in time and in reasonable condition? New Zealand boom time? We just love triathlon so much.Join the Tribe.www.koasports.com.au
Antony Boyd joined Koa Sports in July 2024 with an ambition to break 10 hours in an IRONMAN, a dream he had been chasing for over a decade. 2 kids in high school, running his own business, and 12 hours a week to train (average). At the age of 49 Ant achieved this goal at IRONMAN Cairns 2025. A relatable story for any age group triathlete on limited time, but with an absolute hunger to achieve more. Preparation, nutrition, race day we unpack how it all went down and what needed to change to make this dream a reality. This could be you!Join the Tribe.www.koasports.com.au
We did it guys, Koa Sports are the 2022-2025 IRONMAN Asia Pacific TriClub Champions! An extraordinary weekend of racing saw our athletes take out the title for a 4th year in a row, to continue the Koa dynasty. Unpacking the race is important but Greg becoming entangled in an anti-USA protest in downtown Cairns is another. We sampled some new establishments and profits were made by one of the coaches at the Reef. All that and more in a ‘meaty’ episode of the KSP. Join the Tribe www.koasports.com.au
Opinions are like noses, everyone has got one, and in Tims case it’s a BIG opinion. But what about a race and course preview from the coaches that have delivered the last 3 Club Championships and raced many times including AG titles? Could be worth the 60 mins. It’s been a few years and much has changed since we did an IRONMAN Cairns ‘deep dive’, and we (actually for real) preview the course and offer tips and advice how to get the most out of the day for both the 70.3 and IRONMAN event. More than just a race, what about the logistics, the nightlife, the restaurants, the breweries and of course the Monday. Good luck everyone racing and most of all GO RED! Join the tribe www.koasports.com.au
We’ve always held the firm belief on the Koa Sports Podcast that sport and politics should never mix, so shame on those who make that so! Albeit, MTGA has taken a hit overnight and mum and dad are fighting downstairs on speaker phone for the world to hear. In a major boon Koa Sports has a TriClub update and its divisional status, nothing to see here folks! Pat Roberts joins us from Tasmania to chat about his 70.3 IRONMAN Cairns race coming up. All that and more. Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
In a rare flex, Tim brings his collectables to show Greg a softer side to his personality, some of the rarest and most valuable basketball cards to have ever been made. Mint condition in special plastic protection cases, what a boon! Greg is a victim of yet another road incident with the matter now before the courts, trigger warning. We discuss IRONMAN Cairns and are joined by Koa Sports M45-49 athlete Leith Austin as he talks through his Port Mac 70.3 and recent month of training, hoping to break 10 hours for the first time, #breaking10. Busso is a SELL OUT, the people are voting with their feet, Kona is back baby! Join the Tribe www.koasports.com.au Fuelin are offering Koa Sports Podcast listeners 25% annual Co-Pilot subscriptions simply by heading to this link and unlocking the code today. Fuelin is Personalized Performance Nutrition to help achieve your Goals—whether you’re Running, Cycling, hitting the Gym, or targeting your ideal weight. https://www.fuelin.com/koa-sports
Tim Franklin raises the bat on his first 50 days in office at Koa Sports, we check-in in with the man the ran around the world. Which first 50 days was harder? Racing is rolling all around the world now and Marathon season coming into full focus in Australia with some huge capital city events drawing closer, plus the Brisbane Koa Run Club takes flight, who doesn’t like a free coffee and hard run sesh? Cairns Beer mile for 2026 on the Monday after the IRONMAN, when and where? Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au
Everyone has had their say on Kona returning to a one-day men and women’s World Championships in 2026, halleluiah! We add our two cents as the #1 ranked coaching service at Kona in 2024 for AG athletes. After the cliffhanger on the last episode, what did Greg get for Tim on his holiday in Thailand? Racing is stating to spread it wings across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with EU coming out of its deep freeze. Some heavy lifting been done by endurance athletes across the globe we aim to help pass a little bit of that time in training or on the commute to the job you love! Join the Tribe. www.koasports.com.au Fuelin are offering Koa Sports Podcast listeners 25% annual Co-Pilot subscriptions simply by heading to this link and unlocking the code today. Fuelin is Personalized Performance Nutrition to help achieve your Goals—whether you’re Running, Cycling, hitting the Gym, or targeting your ideal weight. https://www.fuelin.com/koa-sports