Earlier this month we announced the creation of a new program that would help develop junior athletes at the elite level – the Elite Triathlon Academy. There has been a need to keep talented youth athletes in the sport of triathlon, and the Elite Triathlon Academy is a step in the right direction.
In the past, very talented athletes didn’t have the option to choose triathlon as a varsity sport in college – they could be swimmers or runners. Many of our accomplished elite athletes participated in a sport in college – in fact, the members of the 2011 National Team who attended college in the U.S. pursued a sport. Sarah Haskins, Hunter Kemper and Jarrod Shoemaker were runners, and Matt Chrabot, Laura Bennett and Sarah Groff all swam.
We’ve seen the proof that triathlon is important amongst the collegiate crowd. This past April, almost 1,600 students came to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to compete in our Collegiate National Championship. With new athletes introduced to the sport each year, tapping into this talent will produce Olympic hopefuls.
We have some of the best juniors in the country in the first class of the Elite Triathlon Academy: Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.), Kelly Whitley (Geneva, Ill.), Johanna Gartman (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Ryan Bice (Logansport, Ind.) and Chris Wiatr (Long Grove, Ill.). On the day the program was announced, my inbox was flooded with notes from aspiring elite athletes wondering how they could pursue a college degree and a career in triathlon. With the Elite Triathlon Academy in place at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, we look forward to the future and the potential for more programs like this across the country.
fonte: http://www.usatriathlon.org/
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