VICTORIA—After serving triathlon head coaching roles in Asia over the last decade, Patrick Kelly is returning home to Victoria to take the lead of Triathlon Canada’s high-performance program.
Kelly brings nearly four decades of coaching and leading high performance triathletes, including three World Champions, to his new position as High Performance Director for Triathlon Canada where he will be focused on developing a program that delivers medal-winning performances at all levels of the Olympic athlete pathway, while continuing to build on the tradition of excellence of the para-triathlon program.
“It’s been two years since I’ve had the pleasure of setting foot in Canada so I’m thrilled to not only finally be home to reconnect with friends and family, but to begin this exciting new journey with so many of Canada’s athletes and coaches who I have known over the years,” said Kelly.
“I have been fortunate in my previous work with triathlon in Canada to establish positive relationships with athletes and coaches throughout the country. I look forward to further developing these relationships and building on the strong high-performance program that is currently in place in an effort to strengthen the sport of triathlon in the years to come.”
Formerly the senior coach of Triathlon Canada’s National Training Centre between 2003 and 2012, Kelly was the lead coach for six Canadian national team members including Paula Findlay during her electrifying run of five World Triathlon Series victories in 2010-11. Kelly moved to the Far East following the 2012 Olympic Games to take on head coaching responsibililties for the Hong Kong Sports Institute (2012-17) where he developed a talent identification recruitment program, worked closely with sport institutes and sports science staff and created long-term high performance plans.
Kelly called Japan home throughout the last Olympic quadrennial. As National Men’s Team Coach with the Japan Triathlon Union (2017-2021), he led all facets of the men’s squad towards Tokyo 2021 including: managing the integrated support team; performance planning; and budgeting. Working with the team’s sport partners, Kelly transformed the program from a DNF finish in Rio 2016 to the country’s all-time best Olympic performance with two, top-20 finishes at the Tokyo Games.
“Patrick is a highly-motivated individual who will be a critical piece to our overall high-performance leadership team that will be counted on to deliver a coach-driven, athlete-focused program in Canada that is fair, accountable, and dependable with the ultimate goal of building a medal winning program in 2024 and beyond,” said Lucy Smith, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Triathlon Canada. “We are thrilled to have Patrick back home guiding this new generation of Canadian triathletes and coaches who are driven to succeed.”
Kelly’s intimate knowledge of the high-performance system runs deep – from the national to provincial to club level. He began his coaching career in 1984 where he founded, developed and coached one of North America’s top elite teams (Tri Kinetics) which included Canada’s legendary Carol Montgomery. Kelly took the reigns of Triathlon Canada’s National Team Coach from 1988-1991 before his first stint coaching cycling and triathlon in Japan.
“Regardless of the program I am leading, or country that I’m working for, I truly believe success begins with developing relationships. I look forward to bringing the coaches and athletes together, at both the national and provincial level, to work towards a common good of mutual support while striving for top international performances,” said Kelly.
“Success for me will be to see all of us in the Canadian system working collaboratively while utilising leading-edge sport science and technology in pursuit of seeing the Canadian flag raised above the podium at international events including Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games which will serve as critical benchmarks towards achieving our performance goals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” added Kelly.
Kelly is committed to spending his early days on the job meeting with athletes, coaches and provincial sport leaders across the country.
Triathlon Canada is the governing body of the sport in the country. Triathlon Canada’s more than 22,000 members include athletes, coaches and officials from the grassroots to elite levels. With the support of its valued corporate partners – 94 FORWARD, 2XU Canada, Training Peaks, Subaru Canada – along with the City of Victoria, Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, and Own the Podium, Triathlon Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and World Champions in all race disciplines. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com.