Tils’ (as she is generally known) grew up in country New South Wales chasing 3 older brothers around the paddock. So it’s hardly surprising her first foray into sport was on the rugby league field.
Sadly, she had to give up the sport in her early teens because once girls reached a certain age, they were no longer allowed to play against boys - and, of course - there was no girl’s league at the time.
Fast forward a few years and Tils discovered triathlons. And just 4 years later, she made the jump to the professional ranks - which, in hindsight, she now admits was too early.
These days, Tils is an “amateur professional” cyclist who rides at a National level here in Australia with the #1 ranked women’s cycling team in Australia - Specialised Women’s Racing - including at the Tour Down Under in January, 2019.
In this conversation, she shares:
- growing up with male athletes as her role models (because there weren’t any women with a profile in the sport),
- why she says she became a professional triathlete too quickly,
- how she 'hated' swimming yet deliberately set out to change her mindset,
- her struggle with body image, burnout and the Imposter Complex in her triathlon career,
- how she navigates her own "internal bullshit" these days,
- her experience of 'Everesting' on the road to Everest Base Camp in Tibet as well as riding parts of the Silk Road through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and
- whether she's always been the type to 'say yes and figure it out later' (or whether that confidence has developed over time).
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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