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An athlete known for his cycling prowess, Torbjorn Sindballe made headlines with his breakthrough third place at Kona in 2007, with perhaps the most scientific strategy of any athlete out there. Xtri recently had the chance to chat with the Dane to discuss what that day was like and what’s ahead for him this year…
1. Tell us a bit about yourself! Where did you grow up, what was your family life like? Were you athletic as a kid?
I grew up here in DK and had a great childhood. I have a little brother Jakob and little sister Nina. My mother and father divorced when we were 8, 5 and 3, so we lived with our mother from then on, visiting my dad on weekends. There was tons of love, support and freedom, but also a strong sense of responsibility and a good work ethic, which is a significant part of who I am today.
We all did a ton of different sports after school as kids and I have done everything from basketball and soccer to judo or badminton, before taking up competitive swimming at age 12.
2. How did you get involved with triathlon?
I started swimming pretty late, so after trying triathlon in school and through the inspiration from one of my swim coaches, I took up triathlon in the local club at age 15.
There were not that many youngsters in the sport at that time, but everyone in the club was super supportive and gave me a good introduction to the sport. I quickly found other young athletes, some of whom are my best friends today, at federation youth camps and spent most summers all over Denmark and sometimes in Europe for races and camps.
The first 6-7 years of my career I was not at all among the best and often just barely made the top 5 at Danish junior champs. This was a great learning path for me and I think that things not coming to me easily has taught me the perseverance that is crucial to making it on the pro scene.

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