Olympic Gold to Age Group Glory: Lance Watson joins forces with Quintana Roo

There are few coaches in triathlon that elicit reverence among athletes, and you can count Lance Watson among them. When you’ve led an athlete to a gold medal, it’s an indication you know what you’re doing.

Watson—with whom Quintana Roo has just announced a partnership beginning this year along with his LifeSport Coaching group— saw his name thrust to the triathlon forefront in 2000, when one of his young ITU athletes shocked the world to earn the first ever triathlon Olympic medal for Canada—and a gold medal at that.

Since then (and perhaps it’s hyperbole), but everything he’s touched has turned to gold. He’s shaped a slew of Olympians, Ironman champions, and age groupers in the years since.

“It’s been fun, working with all the athletes I have,” Watson says. “It’s been amazing helping athletes see their potential.”

It’s his decades of experience in triathlon that led him to Quintana Roo. “I identified QR as a brand I wanted to work with,” Watson said. “I’ve been coaching long enough, and worked with enough athletes—and their equipment—to know what works well. It’s the original triathlon brand, and that part endears me. No matter who it was in my team, Quintana Roo really resonates with people who had them.”

It matters to Watson as well; he still lines up and races competitively as an age grouper—which makes him excited about the PRsix2 he has en route.

“That’s a bike that champion athletes are riding right now. It’s fun to go on the website, choose the paint job, change the wheels, match your kit", he says, “but look at it from a performance standpoint. I worked with athletes where I was looking at their bikes on a daily basis, and there’s a reason for it. From aerodynamics to responsiveness of the ride, practicality of where you carry your gear, there are a lot of well thought out details. You’ve got it all.  

As the 2021 season kicks off (finally!) we’ll query Lance and his team of LifeSport coaches (including any medical-related questions from coach and team doctor Jeff Sankoff) as the year comes together… so stay tuned!