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Monday, 15 February 2016 06:10

By Seth Rubenroit (sportsworld.nbcsports.com)

Gwen Jorgensen may be the world’s best triathlete, but her husband, Patrick Lemieux, breaks the first sweat on race day.

Lemieux rises at the crack of dawn to prepare oats with eggs, Jorgensen’s pre-race meal. He then zips around the race venue, doing everything from assembling her bicycle to lugging around six liters of her drinking water....

“It is a 24/7 job,” Lemieux said. “I have to match my efforts to what Gwen is doing as an athlete.”

In 2013, Lemieux abandoned his career as a professional cyclist to focus on helping his then-girlfriend maximize her athletic potential.

They now spend nine months out of the year away from their home in St. Paul, Minn. During that time, Lemieux manages all of the couple’s logistics, including the maintenance of apartments in three different countries as Jorgensen races on five different continents.

“People can’t comprehend the lifestyle,” Lemieux said in an interview at Right To Play’s Big Red Ball fundraiser in November. “If you’re not in it, you can’t comprehend it.”

With Lemieux’s support, Jorgensen won back-to-back triathlon world championships in 2014 and 2015.

“Everybody always wishes they had a Pat,” Jorgensen said. “It’s a huge advantage that I have.”   READ MORE