ROYLE Aaron

General
VIRTUAL EVENTS
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he and the Australian triathlon team began competing in virtual cycling events, and won 4,000 USD from the Super League Triathlon eSports Cycling Series. "I've loved it, to be fair. The night before all of us boys were chatting and going through the race strategy, and it's something we are missing at the minute, with that rivalry with each other. I have been doing two [virtual events] a week, but this one with the team has added that camaraderie with the boys. It has been hugely helpful, and although it's not time-zone friendly for us, I think it's worth getting up and smashing ourselves in the morning and getting those endorphins going. It feels strange to be almost July and not to have done a real race this year, so this is filling that void." (superleaguetriathlon.com, 26 Jun 2020)

RELAY PREFERENCE
He says he gets more satisfaction competing in team triathlon events than individual competition. "I always enjoyed team sports as a kid, and the relay gives me a chance to enjoy that team feeling again. To be honest, I think I get a bigger high when the relay team has done well than when I've done well individually." (newcastleherald.com.au, 21 Apr 2020)

HOSPITAL SCARE
In June 2013, after coughing up blood following a race in Spain, he was admitted to hospital for 10 days with pneumonia. Once at hospital, doctors discovered a 12 millimetre abscess on his lung, that was originally feared to be a tumour or tuberculosis. Ultimately it was found that the pneumonia and abscess were caused by two bacterial infections. After being treated with antibiotics he was able to return to light training within several weeks. "I was quite sick, so I slept most of the time, and the time went quite quickly. I think I spent seven days in isolation. The only ones who could come in and out of the room were the nurses and doctors. Once they ruled out tuberculosis, I stayed in hospital for another week or so, but the second week I started to feel a lot better. But obviously that first week was scary and lonely." (couriermail.com.au, 04 Nov 2013; triwa.org.au, 17 Jun 2013; illawarramercury.com.au, 04 Jul 2013; triathlon.org.au, 15 Sep 2013); newcastleherald.com.au, 21 Apr 2020)

COACHING
He has worked as a triathlon coach, offering training programmes for a range of ability levels through an online training service. (strive.training, 28 Jul 2020)