Andrea Gabba - Triathlon brings me an unforgettable experience...

Martina Sochůrková

Nationality: Czech

Lives In: Prague, Czech Republic

Experience: passionate athlete, athlete age group in duathlon and running, university teacher, specializes in ICT, Internet marketing and various sectors of e-commerce.

ANDREA GABBA - Triathlon brings me an unforgettable experience...

Andrea Gabba….Andrea Gabba: a name known throughout the triathlon world. A Torino native, Andrea wears many hats: coach, passionate athlete, husband, father, loving sport enthusiast, and above all a man with a big heart, he began coaching career at a very early age. His wife Nadia Cortassa was an athlete of the modern pentathlon where she excelled in running and swimming. At this time, Andrew had the idea of bringing her to the triathlon and becoming her coach. Nadia was the best Italian triathlete in the years 2002 - 2008. She finished fifth at the Olympics in Athens, won 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at the European championships, won the World Championship, and won many medals for Italian competitions. Andrea then became the coach of the Italian national women's team and led the team to the Olympics in Peking. He later coached a team of long distance runners and led them to multiple ITU victories. These days he is no longer involved in the Italian national team. Three years ago he was offered a coaching position for the Turkish national team of the triathlon. At that time there was a Turkish team who took part in their national championships, but the races almost didn’t occur on the world stage. Andrea had the important task of assembling the team and pushing them to European and world competitions. He was given the task of educating of new pro athletes, but the task meant difficult decisions, one of which was replacing some of the team’s athletes.  The Turkish team includes athletes such as Gaia Peron (born in Italy, 7th place in the World Cup in Hungary) and Jonas Schomburg (born in Germany, 6th in the European Olympics in Baku). Andrea is currently seeking their qualification for the Olympics in Rio. Other Turkish triathletes will have to wait a while longer to qualify for the Olympics, but Andrea is very satisfied with their progress and has even more cause to celebrate considering their improved performance in European competitions.

In our interview, I was very interested to know Andrea’s perspective of the ethnic and cultural differences that he encountered during his experience in Turkey: “It's an experience that I would do again tomorrow. It's the kind of experience that greatly enriches you. Obviously, our cultural differences clashed in the beginning, but we found a right balance in the end. If I ever have the chance to train athletes abroad again, I would; the experience is culturally unique.” Andrea’s task to educate young athletes in the sport sector was a big responsibility, but also a great privilege. My next questions focused on whether he also actively participates as an athlete in his free time in addition to coaching: “Sometimes I train, but I don’t have time to devote to training as intensely as needed for racing. I travel a lot and am often busy for days with my athletes. I was never a full-time athlete. During the period of my military service, I spent more time in the triathlon races as athlete. I still have a passion for this sport and I participated in a long triathlon at races such as Ironman and qualified for the world finals in Hawaii.”

The story of Andrea and his journey in the sports world- particularly the period of his life when he was coaching his talented wife- is an interesting story that links sport and private life. Sport is a central aspect of every part of his life. The whole interview was very pleasant and Andrea impressed us immensely- not only as a coach and athlete, but also as a person. We are proud to announce that we have joined with Andrea to bring you a new project called “Inside the Olympic Games’’, produced in cooperation with the Tri Fun Fit. Expect many interesting articles, photos, and videos of important races to qualify for the Olympics. Andrea will talk not only about the qualification races, but also on a variety of topics related to the Olympics. Visit our blog to find interesting articles from our new section “Inside the Olympic Games’’.

Martina Sochůrková