USA Triathlon Is Here to Answer Your Questions About Its Athlete Recruitment Program & Runners Becoming Triathletes(Partner)

Karl Hungus wrote:

Interesting to see where my membership dues end up.

The High Performance (HP) receives grants from the USOC as well as equipment and support from our sponsors. While a small percentage of membership revenue contributes to the large number of valuable programs USAT manages, very little of your dues goes towards funding HP programs.

Take note LetsRun readers, this is the type of bio I love to read! First off, it's great to start a conversation as a junior in college. We have the luxury of time to assess your swim prior to graduation so that YOU have a better idea if triathlon is a viable path or if you should be making other plans. Second, while your 14:45 hasn't met our standard, with 2 more outdoor seasons you are within a doable range to get down to 14:10. Third, you have some great times both with speed and endurance from HS. Hooray!

What I do want to clarify are the swim times for runners we are looking for. What you quoted above (52/5:05) is not for runners, it's for swimmers. To become a "Bona Fide" recruit, we're looking for 56/5:45 for the 100/500 swim test. I would love for you to get your swim arms under you for a few weeks, test, and send me video. From here I will put you on my swim email list so that you have ideas of what to do in the pool when you can swim (even if 30' a few times a week). I can also see if I have any swim resources in your area. You won't left to your own devices to train the swim. I'd love it if you could email me so I can learn more about you and help you.

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Hi Barb,

Thanks for spending time here.

I currently am a 14:00 5k guy heading into my last track season. I also currently swim a 58 100 off no training. I’m really interested in pursuing this but I’m not sure what to do given I still have track eligibility left. What are the next steps to see if this could be something I do?

Thanks!

Are there any success stories on the men's side from your program? Matt McElroy from NAU was mentioned, any others? It appears the women's pipeline is loaded. Any opinion why things haven't worked out on the men's side yet?

Barb Lindquist wrote:

very little of your dues goes towards funding HP programs.

That just made me feel worse about being a member tbh.

Girls Rule, Guys Drool wrote:

Are there any success stories on the men's side from your program? Matt McElroy from NAU was mentioned, any others? It appears the women's pipeline is loaded. Any opinion why things haven't worked out on the men's side yet?

Because Matt McElroy is the only runner turned triathlon coached by Coach Paulo. There's been several runners coming into the sport that have failed the transition and guess who didn't coach them....................

I don't know who "Coach Paulo" is. Could he have helped Alan Webb achieve better results?

The Squad wrote:

Hi Barb - Can we just make Paulo Sousa the head triathlon coach for the US? He's done an amazing job with his squad.

Paulo has done an outstanding job of creating a culture of excellence within his squad. He's brought CRP athletes Summer Cook (Villanova swimmer/runner), Matt McElroy (NAU runner), and Taylor Spivey (Cal Poly swimmer) to the international level. USAT does not have a "head coach" as we respect the freedom of athletes to chose which coach they think can guide their triathlon career.

Ranner wrote:

Hi Barb,

Thanks for spending time here.

I currently am a 14:00 5k guy heading into my last track season. I also currently swim a 58 100 off no training. I’m really interested in pursuing this but I’m not sure what to do given I still have track eligibility left. What are the next steps to see if this could be something I do?

Thanks!

Thanks for reaching out. It's actually a great time to be reaching out as you head into your last track season (last year would have even been better!). The 14' 5kand 58 100 free sound very promising!!! This gives us an opportunity to assess your swim before you need to make decisions on what to do post-grad. Depending on what your running coach allows for cross-training, the range of what we can do is fairly wide. At minimum, I can look at some video tape and give you technique pointers so that if you can swim even 2x30' a week, you can start to get your swim feel back. We can also discuss if you'd be a good fit for my July OTC skills camp. Send me an email so I can get to know you better!

Barb Lindquist wrote:

The Squad wrote:

Hi Barb - Can we just make Paulo Sousa the head triathlon coach for the US? He's done an amazing job with his squad.

Paulo has done an outstanding job of creating a culture of excellence within his squad. He's brought CRP athletes Summer Cook (Villanova swimmer/runner), Matt McElroy (NAU runner), and Taylor Spivey (Cal Poly swimmer) to the international level.

Thanks for the kind words, Barb. I'd add to that list Chelsea Sodaro (UC-Berkeley) that did her first triathlon in March and finished the season inside the top-50 in the World.

Guys, if you hit the standards/background Barb is talking about on this thread, I'd absolutely encourage you to get in touch with Barb. With a very good level of running and a strong background in swimming, we're talking about making the US Olympic Team and competing for a medal. Do you have what it takes?!

Haha, what you are talking about? Our fastest short course racer Ben Kanute has a 5k pr 15:1X 10k 32:xx. No legit itu course has ever been run under 29 min prob even 30. The fastest pure track 10k by Brownlee what 28:3x and he is LEAGUES above what any american has run ever. If you want to find a diamond in the rough lower your standards and increase development. The great american hope isnt the 5'8'' 118lb 13:30 guy.

What was McElroy's swim background? In the first videos that showed him swimming he looked like an adult onset triathlete flopping around in the water.

Girls Rule, Guys Drool wrote:

Are there any success stories on the men's side from your program? Matt McElroy from NAU was mentioned, any others? It appears the women's pipeline is loaded. Any opinion why things haven't worked out on the men's side yet?

Hi Mr. Drool-- the CRP definitely has had more success on the women's side and this has been a topic of conversation within USAT and High Performance and, quite frankly, the world! We aren't alone in the world as a country that has had success in only one gender. This fall USAT hosted a Men's Summit, bringing in our top coaches and other NGB admins, to discuss why our men have not broken through and to brainstorm on changes we can implement within our system. Many theories have floated around over the years-- the men's int'l racing is deeper than the women's so it's harder to break through; men need longer to develop and that take resources AND a patient racer; male runners in the US in general don't have the depth of swim background as our females because of a US trend for boys to stop swimming earlier than women (other team sports to play, not as "cool" of a sport); or we simply that we haven't found the right male CRP athlete, or have, but haven't developed them well enough or long enough.

I also want to mention that the CRP is not the only pipeline for developing US talent. We have a very robust Junior program, teams, and racing series. These boys who grow up doing triathlon haven't had a place to go when they hit their college years. Many of our best Junior boys are now running in college and will come back to the sport post-grad. Tony Smoragiewicz is a great example of this. Tony won the bronze at the Junior Elite World Champs for triathlon, ran at Michigan for 4 years, came back to triathlon this summer, and represented the USA at the U23 World Champs this summer. Now with the Project Podium option at ASU, at least our best Juniors have an opportunity to do triathlon while getting an education, instead of putting their triathlon pursuits on hold for 4 (some could argue very key) years.

Karl Hungus wrote:

Barb Lindquist wrote:

very little of your dues goes towards funding HP programs.

That just made me feel worse about being a member tbh.

Ha! Here I read your comment as not wanting your dues to go to HP. I was just at the OTC in Colorado Springs for meetings and I saw the USOC mission statement on the wall. While I've looked at this multiple times, the last part struck me in regards to your comment. The mission reads: "To support US Olympic and Paralympic athletes in achieving sustained competitive excellence and preserve The Olympic ideals, and thereby inspire all Americans." As a USAT member, Gwen's Gold medal success in Rio should have made you feel inspired and proud, not because your dues helped her per se, but because you are part of the triathlon family. Thanks for posting!

14:10 5k? wrote:

Haha, what you are talking about? Our fastest short course racer Ben Kanute has a 5k pr 15:1X 10k 32:xx. No legit itu course has ever been run under 29 min prob even 30. The fastest pure track 10k by Brownlee what 28:3x and he is LEAGUES above what any american has run ever. If you want to find a diamond in the rough lower your standards and increase development. The great american hope isnt the 5'8'' 118lb 13:30 guy.

Thanks for your comment and mention that this is a "diamond in the rough" program. Ben is the 4th ranked US athlete on the ITU World Triathlon Series, with 2 collegiate runners (Greg Billington- Wake Forest, 2016 Olympian, retired this year) and Matt McElroy (NAU) above him. Our top ranked guy, Kevin McDowell, grew up a triathlete and he runs well (I don't know his PRs). We are mandated by the USOC to find, support, and develop Olympic medalists. The front pack of an ITU race, on the men's side for sure, is large enough that you need be a runner to be a medalist. It's a hard justification to spend resources through the CRP on getting an athlete into the front pack if the athlete can't be a closer. We have tried the route of bringing in more well-rounded collegiate runners who had a stronger swim but weaker run (14:45 ish), but when they came off in the main pack, the results weren't there. Ben knows he won't be a gold medalist in the Olympic distance triathlon, BUT with the Mixed Team relay debuting in Tokyo and with how he has shown his prowess at that format, it is not unrealistic to have that Olympic team berth and medal on the table for him there.

As a few side notes, when the CRP first started in 2009, the men's run standard was 15:15 5k (!), but has morphed as the pointy end of the sport has gotten faster. Second, Ben earns funding based on his race results. Last note, starting at least last year there are now coaches from multiple federations (and the ITU) who wheel out the run course a few days before the race, so that we can see the true measurement. If you'd like, I can find out the specific distances of some races so you can see how fast these guys are running.

I agree that a 118lb 13:30 guy could get beat up in the swim and be too fragile for our sport.

Mcelwho wrote:

What was McElroy's swim background? In the first videos that showed him swimming he looked like an adult onset triathlete flopping around in the water.

Would love to know where you saw early swim video of Matt! Matt was not our strongest male swimmer coming in, but in his favor was that he grew up surfing in San Diego. That open water (OW) experience has made him a better OW swimmer than what his pure pool times would indicate. And he has put in a LOT of work on the swim the last few years!

Girls Rule, Guys Drool wrote:

I don't know who "Coach Paulo" is. Could he have helped Alan Webb achieve better results?

Alan had great coaching (IMO) in triathlon, so while many coaches would love to think she/he could have developed Alan to a world class triathlete, I feel very confident that every stone was turned for him. And I think Alan would say the same thing.

Mcelwho wrote:

What was McElroy's swim background? In the first videos that showed him swimming he looked like an adult onset triathlete flopping around in the water.

Matt didn't have a swim background. His starting point on the swim is what you see on the Flotrack video of December 2015.

What Matt has done/is doing is not easy, it's been tried by many that have failed before. I've heard some theories to why he progressed so quickly, but I think the deciding factor was Matt's unrelenting commitment to doing the right things to get better.

Hi, I was wondering if there is anyone in the CRP program now? How many people do you take? Interested in the program.. not too much swimming experience though. Do you only look at runners?