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Inspiring Ann...

Friday, 12 April 2013 01:10

(Photo L - After completing her mini-sprint and a brief rest, Ann McCarthy was back on her feet and ringing an orange YWCA bell cheering on a friend.)

Ann McCarthy: Triathlete in the Olympian spirit

By Tom Couillard

Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games and author of the Olympic Creed, must have been an athlete in the spirit of triathlete Ann McCarthy. He wrote:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."

McCarthy has struggled and fought well. So well, in fact, that despite knee replacements in 2009 and 2010, rotator cuff surgery and ankle issues, she has completed two indoor mini-sprint triathlons at the YWCA of Minneapolis. The most recent was Sunday, April 7.

MaCarthy, 54, was in the event