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Triathlon is for Every BODY...

Thursday, 08 February 2018 23:10

By Adam Sczech (usatriathlon.org)

“Why not?”

I have uttered that phrase many times when talking with someone about triathlon. Like most people that have been doing triathlons for a long time, most of my wardrobe is made up of race T-shirts, and they are often a conversation starter. So often I hear “Oh, that’s amazing” or “I could never do that,” which are untrue. Just about anybody — with any body — can do a triathlon.

Triathlon is about doing the most with our unique body, no matter the size, shape or abilities. Short, tall, lean, muscular, young or wise, there is a place for each of us! Our sport includes physically challenged athletes, and I’ve raced with athletes with quadriplegia, skeletal dysplasia and visual impairments. When I hear someone say they could never do a triathlon, I tell them about my first triathlon....

The first triathlon I ever did was way back in the day, before smartphones, and when I was in college in 2002. It was during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. I was a college football player, and not a skill position — I was 312-pound offensive lineman. It’s not exactly the body type one associates with triathlon. 

I can’t explain why I wanted to do a triathlon other than it simply seemed like fun. Even as a lumbering lineman I enjoyed biking and I tolerated running, plus I took swim lessons as a kid. I would soon discover that swimming for fun is tremendously different than swimming for speed. 

When I saw a flyer for a little local triathlon near my college I thought, why not?

I was not going to be stopped because I did not fit what I thought of as the triathlon or endurance athlete “mold.” I was not even going to be stopped by the fact that all I had was a mountain bike that I used to get around campus. READ MORE