Triathlon and health across the lifespan. Key lessons from the IOC consensus statements. Injury and illness research: short distance athletes. What can scientists tell coaches/athletes?

Veronica Vleck has considerable University and international lecturing experience in both sports physiology and psychology. Since 2008 she has been a full time Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology funded Research Fellow at the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon. She has been focusing on triathlon specific research for over twenty five years. Her Ph.D. was on training and injury in elite triathletes and involved research into how to use the athlete’s diary to predict impending injury, illness and or performance decrement. She has since explored the effect of exercise duration, intensity and pacing strategy on the mechanisms of development of fatigue, the underlying mechanisms of adaptation to training in different exercise modes, and the relationships between repeated application of swimming, cycling and running stress, and illness, injury and performance decrement, in her research. Her current project examines to what extent the positive effects of multi-sport swim, cycle and run training (such as decreased risk of non-communicable disease) may be offset by negative ones such as increased incidence of illness, injury, osteoarthritis, etc., as a function of age and or training load.

Veronica is a former Laboratory Director of the National Sports Medicine Institute of the UK, and was the Chair of the Medical and Research Committee of the European Triathlon Union for over a decade. Some of her achievements during said time included setting up a triathlon research network; organising the first ever European Championships coaches conference, and overseeing the medical set up for the 2012 (pre-Olympic) European Triathlon Championships.

She has extensive experience in coaching and or providing sports science support to all levels of triathlete, from novices through to World age group champions, National Squads and Olympic medalists.

Selected Publications:

Vleck (in press). The changing relationship between multidisciplinary (triathlon) exercise and health across the lifespan. Movimento Humano, cultura e saúde: situação atual e abordagem educacional (Human movement, culture and health). Lisbon University Press.

Vleck, V., Millet, G.P., Bessone Alves, F (2014). The effect of triathlon training and racing on athletes’ general health. Sports Medicine 44(12): 1659-92. doi: 10.1007/s40279-014-0244-0

Walker, M., Vleck, V., Ussher, M., Sharma, S. Casualty incidence at the world triathlon championships: are age, gender and event type associated with increased risk? BJSM 04/2014; 48(7):670. DOI:10.1136/bjsports-2014-093494.293

Vleck, V., Millet, G.P., Bessone Alves, F (2013). Triathlon injury: an update. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin und Sporttraumatologie 61 (3)/2013

Taylor, D., Smith, M., Vleck, V (2013). Reliability of performance and associated physiological responses during simulated sprint-distance triathlon. Journal of Science and Cycling 1(1): 21-29

Bonacci, J., Vleck, V., Saunders, P.U., Blanch, P., Vicenzio, P (2013). Rating of perceived exertion during cycling is associated with subsequent running economy in triathletes. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 16(1): 49-53

Millet, G.P; & Vleck, V.E. (2011). ‘Triathlon specificity.’ Swimming: Science and performance (Eds: L. Seifert, D. Chollet and I. Mujika). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Vleck, V., Bessone Alves, F. (2011). Triathlon transition tests: Overview and recommendations for future research. RICYDE: Rev Int Cienc Dep 7: I-III, 2011. Available at http://www.cafyd.com/REVISTA/ojs/index.php/ricyde/article/view/428

Diaz, V.D., Peinado, A.B., Vleck, V., Alvarez-Sanchez, M., Benito, P., Alves, F.B., Calderon, F., Zapico, A.G (2012). Longitudinal changes in response to a cycle-run field test of young male National "Talent identification" and Senior Elite Triathlon Squads. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26(8):2209-19

Vleck, V.; Millet, G.; Bentley, D.; & Cochrane, T (2010). ‘Occurrence and Risk Factors for Overuse Injury in Elite Triathletes: Effect of Event Distance.’ Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(1): 30-36

Vleck, V.E. (2010). ‘Triathlon Injury.’ In ‘Epidemiology of Injury in Olympic Sports.’ International Olympic Committee ‘Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine’ Series pp 294-320. Blackwell Publications

Vleck, V (2010). ‘Triathlete Training and Injury Analysis- an investigation in British National Squad and age-group triathletes.’ VDM Verlag Publishers. Saarbrucken, Germany

Millet, G.P; Bentley, D.J., & Vleck, V.E. (2009). Physiological adaptations to cycle and run training: lessons from triathletes. Sports Medicine 39(3): 179-206

Vleck, V.; Millet, G.; Bentley, D.; & Bürgi, A. (2008). ‘Pacing during an elite Olympic distance triathlon: comparison between male and female competitors.’ Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 11: 424-432

Vleck, V.; Bürgi, A.; & Bentley, D.J. (2006). ‘The consequences of swim, cycle and run performance on overall result in elite Olympic Distance triathlon.’ International Journal of Sports Medicine 27: 43-48

White, P.D.; Nye, K.E.; Pinching, A.J.; Yap, T.; Power, N.; Vleck, V.; Bentley, D.J.; Thomas, J.M.; and Parkin, J.M (2004). 'Muscle and immune proteins response to exercise in the chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study.' J Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 12(2): 51-66

Millet, G. & Vleck, V. (2000). ‘Physiological and biomechanical adaptations to the cycle-to-run transition in ‘Olympic triathlon: review and recommendations for training.’ British Journal of Sports Medicine 34: 384-390

Bentley, D.J.; Millet, G.P.; Vleck, V.E.,McNaughton, L.R. (2002). ‘Specific aspects of contemporary triathlon: implications for physiological analysis and performance.’ Sports Medicine 32 (6): 345-59

Vleck V., Bentley, D.; Cochrane, T. (2003). (Invited review). ‘Training in triathletes.’ Science et Motricité (50) 33-53

Vleck V, Garbutt G. (1998). ‘Training and injury characteristics of male Elite, Development and Club triathletes.’ International Journal of Sports Medicine 19 (1): 35-38