Eric Haakonssen

Eric Haakonssen

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
416 followers 405 connections

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About

I am a performance support specialist with more than 12 years of experience working across four Olympic cycles with endurance, sprint and action sport disciplines.

Currently employed by Surfing Australia’s High Performance Program as their Performance Support and Podium Manager, I lead a multidisciplinary group that integrates with our coaching team to support athletes throughout the pathway. I also oversee the Podium program which provides direct support to our World Tour and Olympic bound athletes.

Formerly in the role of Senior Physiologist with the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Cycling Team from 2014-2021, I was embedded in the Road, BMX Race and BMX Freestyle programs. Before taking on this position, I earned a PhD at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), where my research focused on body composition management and bone health in female road cyclists. Concurrently, I participated in the AIS Coaching Scholarship program and then spent nearly a decade coaching numerous World Tour road cyclists.

Working across an eclectic range of sports has required a working knowledge of the physiology and coaching science of strength and power and more recently skill acquisition with the introduction of BMX Freestyle and Surfing as an Olympic disciplines.

As a practitioner, I provided general and wide ranging support including but not limited to athlete testing and monitoring; coaching; strength and conditioning prescription; performance analysis; and guided specific research activities and supervised PhD students. In my current role, I am privileged to have area experts in each of these disciplines as well as medical and physiotherapy, who I lead to provide impactful outcomes for athletes and coaches.

Activity

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Experience

  • Surfing Australia Graphic

    Surfing Australia

    Casuarina NSW 2487

  • -

    Gold Coast, Australia

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    Gold Coast, Queensland

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    Canberra, Australia

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    Winston-Salem, NC, USA

  • -

Education

  • Graphic

    -

    PhD (Exercise Physiology)

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    MSc (Health and Exercise Science)

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    Exercise Science and Rehabilitation (Hon)

Licenses & Certifications

Volunteer Experience

  • The Sanctuary Women, Children & Pets Refuge Graphic

    Assistant

    The Sanctuary Women, Children & Pets Refuge

    - 1 year 4 months

    Social Services

    Collect and deliver donations.
    Feed rescued animals.
    Engage with residents including children.
    Assist with 'working bees'.

  • President

    Wake Forest University Cycling Team

    - 1 year 1 month

    Health

Publications

Courses

  • First Aid and CPR

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  • Phlebotomy

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Honors & Awards

  • Robert T. WIthers PhD Scholar Award

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    Awarded to a current PhD scholar or very recent PhD graduate (<1 year) who has conducted Exercise Physiology research that has had a substantial impact on Australian Sport

  • Best New Investigator - ACT Sports Medicine & Science Research Awards

    Sports Medicine Australia

    Awarded for the study:
    The effects of a calcium-rich pre-exercise meal on biomarkers of calcium homeostasis in competitive female cyclists: a randomised crossover trial.
    Haakonssen EC, Ross ML, Knight EJ, Cato LE, Nana A, Wluka AE, Cicuttini FM, Wang BH, Jenkins DG, Burke LM.
    PLoS One. 2015 May 13;10(5):e0123302. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123302. eCollection…

    Awarded for the study:
    The effects of a calcium-rich pre-exercise meal on biomarkers of calcium homeostasis in competitive female cyclists: a randomised crossover trial.
    Haakonssen EC, Ross ML, Knight EJ, Cato LE, Nana A, Wluka AE, Cicuttini FM, Wang BH, Jenkins DG, Burke LM.
    PLoS One. 2015 May 13;10(5):e0123302. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123302. eCollection 2015.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=The+effects+of+a+calcium-rich+pre-exercise+meal+on+biomarkers+of+calcium+homeostasis+in+competitive+female+cyclists%3A+A+randomised+crossover+trial.

  • Young investigator award - poster presentation

    European College of Sports Science

    Body mass and skinfolds in elite female road cyclists

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Basic Danish

    Limited working proficiency

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