Wellington to be coached by Lessing

The news that Simon Lessing will be coaching 2-time Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington comes just weeks after the announcement that Cliff English would be the new coach.

Details are not available at this time but Chrissie Wellington said in a statement to slowtwitch "After much consideration and discussion with Cliff, we have decided not to pursue a professional coaching relationship for 2009. I wish Cliff and everyone connected to his organization all the very best for the future and I will now be working with Simon Lessing and his Boulder Coaching organization."

Cliff English the former US-National coach must truly feel that he is riding the coaching roller coaster but seemed upbeat about the new situation when confirming the Wellington departure. "While I will still be working with a small group of elite athletes, one of my greatest pleasures is helping to develop juniors and age-groupers and hosting triathlon camps. By passing on this wonderful opportunity to train and extensively travel with Chrissie I will be able to focus on helping my other triathletes meet their athletic goals. I look forward to seeing Chrissie race in the 2009 season and we are both open to future collaborations"

The new man in charge of guiding Chrissie Wellington is English too, but only because of his previous citizenship. 5-time World Champion Simon Lessing now resides in Boulder, CO and has a coaching business aptly named bouldercoaching.com, and he will take Chrissie Wellington under his wings moving forward.