Tri-umphs

Olympic Fever!

By Jim Starr

As the world is learning, triathlon has arrived. From its inception just a quarter-century ago it has had a meteoric rise to become an Olympic sport. From the aerobars used in cycling time trials through the nutritional supplements now commonplace in endurance sports to the sleek "body suits" legalized for this year's swim venues at the Olympic games, triathlon has revolutionized the parent sports that it combines. In the world of business, the Timex triathlon watches have become the best selling in the world. And now, Hunter Kemper, the first triathlete ever to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Triathlon team that competes in Sydney this month, the man who single-handedly increased the quota of U.S. male triathletes from two to three, is pitching Chevy trucks during prime time. He and fellow U.S. triathlon teammate Nick Radkewich are also used in Visa commercials here and abroad. Given triathlon's impact and the fact that it has a prominent place in its first-ever Olympic games ushering in the new millennium, we thought that it might be useful to introduce the …

Sofa Spud's Schedule For Sydney

Although triathlon was born in the USA, in recent years the world has outstripped us to the point that we may have difficulty garnering a medal. Australia, Canada, and Germany (among others) have had a strong presence in international competition. When the games open in mid-September, the women's competition will be shown during prime time on the second night (Sept. 16) of the games. The men go for the gold the next day.

The racecourse will incorporate two of the best-known features of Sydney: its harbor and the Opera house. Athletes will compete over the standard international distance that includes a 1.5K (.93 mile) swim, a 40K (24.85 miles) bike and a 10K (6.21 miles) run. Unlike many U.S. races, the Olympic competition, in keeping with International Triathlon Union (ITU) policy, is draft-legal. Thus, the bike portion of the race will involve energy-saving pacelines and pack riding rather than the more individual time-trial type riding typical in U.S. triathlons where it is the individual cyclist against the clock without the help of other riders.

Team sizes for each country were determined by the performances of their triathletes in ITU competitions. U.S. slippage from triathlon's pinnacle is documented by the fact that it took a silver medal performance by top qualifier Hunter Kemper at the Pan Am games in 1999 to secure a third team slot for the USA. (Still, even Kemper did not break into the top ten at the World championships in Australia last spring). Top U.S. performers at the Worlds automatically qualified for Team USA. Team qualifiers had to earn enough points in the last four years to be ranked among the top 125 triathletes in the world. Additional team members were selected by their performance at the U.S. Olympic trials held in Irving, TX on May 28. The qualifying race was brutal as humitures exceeded 110. It created problems for top-ranked distance triathlete Barb Lindquist who did not qualify. That's the set-up, so let's meet …

The Us Olympic Triathlon Team

Denver's Jennifer Gutierrez (33) leads the mature women's team through her seventh-place finish at Worlds. (She managed only a fifth place in the brutal heat at the optional--for her--Olympic trials). Like the other women qualifiers she is 5'3" and weighs about 115 lbs. The fifth-year pro ranks sixteenth in the world. A full-time teacher from an athletic family, Gutierrez was second in the 5000 meters at the World Swimming Championships in 1993. Her brother travels the world doing BMX freestyle exhibitions for GT bikes and her father played ball in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Sheila Taormina (31) actually won the Texas trials despite her ninth-place U.S. ranking and a debilitating illness that caused her to miss 1999 competition. Recovering from rhabdomyolysis, a skeletal muscle breakdown that can lead to renal failure, the first year pro already owns Olympic gold as a member of the record-setting 800 meter relay swim team at the 1996 Atlanta games. She also owns several 25-29 age group world swim records. Taormina was a four-year Academic All-American at Georgia. A bungee jumper and skydiver, she is coached by my old boss (when I wrote for Triathlon Today, the precursor to Inside Triathlon) Lew Kidder.

Local flavor is provided by Joanna Zeiger (30). The second year pro out of Baltimore, where she is working on a Ph.D. in genetic epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, was the 1997 amateur USA Triathlon (USAT) and Triathlete magazine Triathlete of the Year. She earned second-place at the U.S. nationals here in Columbia that year. She has also won the Eagleman Half Ironman at Cambridge, MD. Zeiger has tenth place and second place finishes to her credit at the Hawaii Ironman. Her 2:47:25 at the Northern Central Trails Marathon qualified her for the Olympic marathon trials. Zeiger also qualified for the Olympic trials in swimming in both 1988 and 1992. She holds the national masters record in the 400 individual medley. Zeiger has a B.A. in psychology. Growing up in California, she competed against Janet Evans.

The women's alternate is Siri Lindley, a pro since 1996. The third-ranked American was the 1998 National Pro champion. At 5'9", 136 lbs., Lindley came to triathlon after lettering in field and ice hockey and in lacrosse where she still ranks as one of the top tenscorers all-time at Brown. Her swim coach is Jane Scott, sister of six-time Hawaii Ironman winner Dave Scott, who also competed in the 1997 version of the "Legends of Triathlon" race at the Columbia Triathlon in Howard County.

One problem with using a qualifying race instead of rankings for team selection is that strange things can happen under unusual race conditions. This year's harsh heat will send the ninth- and tenth-ranked U.S. women to Sydney to try to medal while the third-ranked woman serves as an alternate.

Top male qualifier Hunter Kemper leads the three-pack of twenty-something males into the Olympics. At 24, Kemper is the youngest member of Team USA. Ranked thirty-third in the world, this 1998 pro qualified as the first U.S. finisher at Worlds and won the Texas Olympic trials. Kemper, a previous winner on our local Columbia course at the 1997 age-group nationals, hails from Longwood, FL. In 1989 he was featured in Sports Illustrated for winning the Ironkids title as a 13 year-old. This year he also defeated U.S. mile record holder Steve Scott by five seconds in the Competitor Magazine/Greg Welch mile--not bad for a guy who once considered running his weakest event.

Nick Radkewich, from Detroit, finished fourth in Irving. He grew up in Florida. He has been both a friend and competitor to Kemper despite their five-year age difference. Radkewich (29) was the second American finisher at the Texas trials. His sisters Jody and Katy also compete ably. He defeated two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in the 1985 Ironkids final. Seven-year pro Radkewich has a Bassett hound named Tinley after triathlon legend Scott Tinley.

Kemper (6'3", 163 lbs.) and Radkewich (5'9", 155 lbs.) are the first and second ranked Americans in the world rankings.

Gillette, Wyoming's Ryan Bolton (27), was fifth at the Olympic Trials. The longhaired, 5'10", 155 lbs. former USA Triathlon junior team member is coming off an injury year in 1999. He finished twelfth in the 1995 NCAA Cross-Country Championships running for Wyoming where he was an Academic All-American. Bolton, an avid skier working on a masters in nutrition, owns a five-foot pet iguana.

The men's team is rounded out by 6', 160 lbs. Victor Plata, a second-year pro from Santa Cruz, CA. The alternate is the seventh-ranked American and a magna cum laude social science graduate. Plata ran in college (Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo) and his father lives in Colombia.

A surprise choice for coach of the Olympic USA Triathlon team is Michelle Blessing. Believed to be one of the few woman coaches of a coed team, the mother of two did her first triathlon in 1992. She became a USAT coach in 1998 and has worked with the junior teams as well as national teams.

Team manager Tim Yount (35) is deputy director of USAT. He is their jack-of-all trades; he manages juniors, runs the USAT publication, Triathlon Times, and organizes the running of the governing board. He first competed in triathlon near Kansas State and is the longest term staff member at USAT headquarters. Yount comes here frequently to manage the competition for the junior teams that often occurs at the Columbia Triathlon.

We look forward to watching these athletes compete and wish them the best of luck in Sydney! Editor

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