Taisalia High Performance

Coaching consultancy for high-performance sport.

Programme leadership, consultancy and coach education for universities, governing bodies and clubs, built on work with athletes at six Olympic Games.

Discuss Your Programme

What We Do

Programmes led, organisations advised, coaches developed.

01

Programme Leadership

Leading performance programmes on contract. Taisalia currently heads swimming, water polo and lifesaving at the University of Galway.

02

High-Performance Consultancy

Advisory for governing bodies, clubs, regional organisations and institutions: performance pathways, squad structures and long-term planning.

03

Coach Education & Publishing

Author of the first Level 1 and Level 2 triathlon coaching courses and manuals for Triathlon Ireland. Editor of Run Ireland, where he published a wide range of coaching and training articles; the site won the eircom Spider Award for Community in 2011.

04
COMING SOON

BlackFox: AI Coaching Platform

An AI coach that builds training programmes for individual athletes and for teams, drawing on three decades of high-performance coaching. Individual coaching moves from one-to-one sessions to the platform.

Track Record

Three decades in elite sport.

6Olympic Games, Sydney 2000 to Tokyo 2021
15+Olympic athletes worked with
10Countries with national-level athletes coached
2025Coach of the Year, University of Galway

Sports & Disciplines

Expertise across the performance spectrum.

Coaching and programme work in most of these. In modern pentathlon and race walking, support to Olympic athletes through training camps, sponsorship and personal psychological support.

Aquatics

  • Swimming
  • Open water and marathon swimming
  • Water polo
  • Lifesaving

Multisport

  • Triathlon
  • IRONMAN and long distance
  • Duathlon
  • Aquathlon
  • Modern pentathlon

Athletics & Endurance

  • Road running and marathon
  • Cross-country
  • Mountain and trail running
  • Ultra-running
  • Race walking

Strength & Other Sports

  • Strength and conditioning
  • Gaelic games: hurling and football
  • Cycling
  • Orienteering
  • Archery
  • Martial arts

Level of Competition

Results at every level.

Olympic

  • Athletes at six Olympic Games, 2000 – 2021
  • Olympic qualifiers in swimming, triathlon and marathon
  • Youth Olympics, European Games and European Youth Olympic Festival

World & European

  • World and European Triathlon Championships (ITU and ETU)
  • IRONMAN World Championship
  • Junior and Senior European Swimming Championships
  • European Marathon Championships
  • World and European Mountain and Ultra-Running Championships
  • European Lifesaving Championships
  • French and British Triathlon and Swimming Championships
  • Celtic Tri Nations

National, in ten countries

  • National championship athletes, champions and medallists in Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States and Australia
  • National championship athletes for Malta and Jordan
  • Triathlon Ireland Head Coach, World and European Championships, 2001 – 2006

The Coach

Sébastien Locteau: athlete, coach and founder.

As an athlete

  • French international elite triathlete, 1997 – 2000
  • 13-time IRONMAN finisher
  • 28-time marathon finisher
  • 24-hour swim record holder since 2011
  • English Channel relay crossing, 2022

As a coach

  • Over 25 years working with more than 15 Olympic athletes
  • Triathlon Ireland Head Coach, World and European Championships, 2001 – 2006
  • National Coach and Development Officer, Triathlon Ireland, 2001 – 2007
  • Head Coach at Ballinasloe Swimming Club, Trident Swimming Club, Pulse Triathlon Club and for Connacht Swimming
  • Ireland swim coach, Celtic Tri Nations, 2012 – 2013
  • AAI coach, World 100km Ultra-Running Championship, 2009
  • Recognition certificate, Athens 2004 Olympic Games Organising Committee

As a founder

  • Founder of Sports Ireland Training Centre: a team of over 30 coaches and more than 300 athlete programmes, from amateur to elite
  • Founder of Galway Triathlon Club, Predator Triathlon Club and Westport Triathlon Club
  • Co-founder of and contributor to Run Ireland
  • Founder or co-founder of marathons, triathlons, duathlons and aquathlon series across the west of Ireland

Success Story

University of Galway: swimming, water polo and lifesaving.

2022

  • NUIG rebranded as University of Galway; Sébastien Locteau appointed Head Coach
  • European Championships (Italy): Amy Micallef, women’s 200m medley for Malta
2023

  • European Triathlon Championships, Madrid: Naoise O’Donnell, 1st, female 20–24
  • Irish Aquathlon National Championships, elite women: Naoise O’Donnell, 4th
  • University of Galway Athlete of the Year: Naoise O’Donnell
  • Malta Championships and Irish National Winter Championships: Amy Micallef
  • Irish Open and Summer National Championships
2024

  • Coach of the Year nominee, University of Galway
  • Irish University team: Robin Pfeiffer and Eidhne Kennedy (captain)
  • Individual Performance nominee: Eidhne Kennedy
  • U19 Irish Water Polo Champion: Daehan Coll
  • European Aquathlon Championships, Coimbra: Naoise O’Donnell, 3rd, female 20–24
  • IRONMAN 70.3 New York: Naoise O’Donnell, 2nd, female 18–24
2025

  • Club registered with Swim Ireland
  • World Triathlon Long Distance Championships, Pontevedra: Naoise O’Donnell, 1st, female 20–24
  • European Lifesaving Championships, Szczecin: 2nd in the senior women’s sprint relay; Susan Meehan 14th in Iron and 13th in surf ski
  • Irish University team, Swansea: Eidhne Kennedy
  • Long Course and Summer National Championships: Olivia Currie, Thomas Davey, Eidhne Kennedy, Jake Van De Beek and Caoilfhlin Harte
  • Coach of the Year, University of Galway
2026

  • Co-Head Coaches Noel Barret and Joanne Shaughnessy join the programme
  • Universities Water Polo Championship: 1st overall, 1st women and 1st men
  • Club of the Year, University of Galway
  • Irish Open and Commonwealth Championship: Eidhne Kennedy, Thomas Davey, Jake Van De Beek and Daehan Coll
  • Luxembourg International: Thomas Davey and Eidhne Kennedy
  • Summer and Long Course National Championships
  • Open Summer Championship, Amman, Jordan: Khalid Younis
LEGACY

Clubs and events founded

  • Galway Triathlon Club: founder
  • Predator Triathlon Club: founder; the club also gave rise to Bluefin Swimming Club
  • Westport Triathlon Club: founder
  • Portumna International Marathon and Ultra Marathon
  • Triathlons in Galway, Westport, Portumna, Loughrea, Athleague, Ballinasloe, Portrunny and Lanesborough
  • Athenry Duathlon and the West of Ireland 5km
  • Aquathlon 5.5 and Triathlon 25.5 series

Discuss a programme, a squad or a club.

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