Rudy von Berg - one of the most successful middle-distance triathletes

Welcome to The Greg Bennett show, an AnyQuestion podcast hosted by Former Professional Olympic and World Champion Athlete Greg Bennett. 

Greg chats with the world's greatest athletes and high performers to find out how they got to the top of the world and how they are able to sustain it. 

In this week’s episode, Greg chats with one of the most successful middle-distance triathletes, Rudy von Berg.

2019 saw a breakthrough performance and a World Championship podium for the fast-rising Rodolphe Von Berg. But, when you are already part of a triathlon dynasty long before you turn 30, there are still plenty more chapters to be written in the sporting history of RVB.

The sport of triathlon truly runs through the veins of the Von Berg family. Rodolphe Sr continues to be one of the best in the world in his category, still racing with success into his 60s. With his son’s progress to date, the dynasty has many years to run yet.

“My earliest memory of him racing was in Kona at the IRONMAN World Championship in 1998 when I was 5 years old,” says ‘Junior’, who is now doing a fine job of forging his own direction in the sport, a path which he hopes in due course will lead him to the top step of the podium on the Big Island.

“As a kid, you definitely tell yourself, ‘One day I’ll be here with the top pros to try and win it!’ Kona will always be the number one race to win for me in my career.”

While success on Alii’s Drive may be a few years off yet - he’s yet to even start over the iron distance - his rapid progress, race wins and Championship titles over the Middle Distance confirm that his career path is heading firmly in the right direction.

timestamps

09:54 - Greg dives into Rudy’s journey into the sport of triathlon.

22:18 - Rudy talks about his events in 2020 with fascinating detail.

26:02 - Rudy explains how his passion for endurance sport began and how his father has inspired him throughout his career.

31:08 - A little retro 80’s flashback … Greg and Rudy talk about triathlon over the past decades … to current day standards.

37:47 - Rudy and Greg discuss the point in Rudy’s career when he recognised and believed he could be a professional athlete.

40:55 - Having taken down many of the biggest names in the sport, Rudy and Greg discuss who is still on his list to beat.

50:23 - 15 fun rapid-fire quick answer questions

1. What is your favorite family vacation?
2. What are you currently watching on Netflix?
3. First car you owned?
4. How many episodes of the Greg Bennett Show have you listened to?
5. Two most-used apps on your phone?
6. Out of 10, how cool would you say you are.
7. If you could swap jobs with anyone else, who would it be?
8. Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?
9. First job?
10. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
11. What dinner could you prepare? Three guests’ non-family you would invite? 
12. Which decade of music is the best?
13. Should pineapple be allowed on Pizza?
14. Where is somewhere you haven’t been, you’d like to go?
15. Greatest movie of all time?

01:08:01 - Rudy talks about his sponsors.