Bailie inspires students at alma mater

It was a blast from the past when triathlete Ryan Bailie visited Newton Moore Senior High School last week.

The 25-year-old graduated from the school in 2008 before taking his passion for triathlons to the international level, moving to New South Wales to train and compete with the Wollongong Wizards.

He has since travelled the globe for the sport.

At last year's Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal in the Mixed Team Relay event and he also climbed to a ranking of six in the World Triathlon Series.

Flying back to Bunbury during his three-week off-season, Bailie visited family and took some time to talk to students about his journey.

"I think the biggest thing is maintaining that interest in sport after school," he said.

"You can make it from Bunbury - just because you are from a country town doesn't mean you can't make it to an elite level."

Bailie has spent quite a bit of his down time working with school sports programs, and hoped students will see it as another career option after graduating.

Flying back to start training again this week, Bailie will be spending between 20 and 40 hours a week preparing for his next races with the 12 other squad members, in the hope of reaching the biggest sports stage of all, the Rio Olympics.