USA Triathlon's Recruitment Program Manager Is Here to Answer Your Questions About Its Recruitment Program & Rio 2016(Sponsored)

Barb, since we did this in the fall, USA Triathlon has selected its Olympic teams. Can you get us up to speed on the current Olympic Team? I know Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah True (she's married to US 5k hopeful Ben) are on the team, but without cheating and googling I think that's all I know. Can you give us an update on the team? and what their backgrounds were and how many came through the CRP?

Thanks for the intro, Weldon! Our full team has been selected since our last qualifying event in Yokohama, Japan May 14th. Both Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah True were on our OT in 2012; Sarah was a close to the podium 4th! Gwen swam then ran at Wisconsin; Sarah swam at Middlebury, but in our sport she is known as a runner, even before marrying Ben! The third female is Katie Hursey Zaferes, who ran steeple at Syracuse and was part of our first year that the CRP had a resident program (2013). Both Gwen and Katie came through the CRP.

On the men's side, we have a varied background. Greg Billington swam and ran in HS, but opted to follow in the footsteps of 4x Olympian Hunter Kemper by running at Wake Forest. His first int'l competition was as a Junior in 2006. Joe Maloy swam at Boston college (graduated 2008) but in HS he earned varsity letters in XC, swimming, Track, and tennis. Ben Kanute graduated from the University of Arizona in 2015 and raced triathlons through college. None of these men came through the CRP and all have a relatively long history in the sport.

Barb - The women seem stacked in depth beyond those three. But who's in the pipeline on the men's side? Matt McElroy recently has converted and seems to be doing well, but the Alan Webb experiment failed

Hi Barb,

Thanks for taking the time for q&a.

What kind of ability does one need if they are to develop into an international triathlete? What type of background do triathletes come from?

What happened to Lukas Verzbicas? I know he had his sights set on Rio but there is just no info out there about him lately.

Barb, I know enough about triathlon to know it's about a lot more than just putting the three disciplines together. I know that swimming open water is much different than swimming in a pool, and running off the bike is a lot different than running on a track. And of course biking in a pack is much different than biking on TT bars.

That said, it's also obvious that a big part of the reason these elites are so good is their ability at each individual discipline. But it's frustrating sometimes since every triathlon is different not knowing what these abilities are.

Is there any way for you to estimate some elites' abilities at the disciplines individually? For instance, what could Gwen run a track 10k in? What could she swim for 1500m (or 1650y)? What could she bike for a 40k? What about specific men?

I know there exist time standards for the CRP and other things (and they are of course very fast), but I don't understand how exactly this applies in practice as it's just supposed to indicate potential. Is Gwen by far the fastest on the run because she is a 33-minute 10k runner who can run fast off the bike? Or is she a 30/31-minute 10k runner who would challenge for the national title in that?

I heard a couple years ago of one of the Brownlee brothers running a 10k in 28:20 or so. I don't know of any other data. Do you have any idea what any particular triathletes could or have done for the individual disciplines?

individual times wrote:

Do you have any idea what any particular triathletes could or have done for the individual disciplines?

And actually I should have included you in there since you'd have a good sense of your own abilities. I know you were a very fast swimmer growing up, but at your best in triathlon, what could you have done in a 500 or 1650? What about a 40k bike or 10k run (or another distance) on its own? I am super interested in this because it really puts elite triathletes in context.

C. Morgan wrote:

Barb - The women seem stacked in depth beyond those three. But who's in the pipeline on the men's side? Matt McElroy recently has converted and seems to be doing well, but the Alan Webb experiment failed

Yes, the women are deep. We have 3 really great CRP female triathletes who didn't make the Olympic Team but were in serious contention (Renee Tomlin, Kirsten Kasper, Summer Cook). Within High Performance we have discussed why the guys aren't having the same success. There are various theories. First, the men's field is just deeper in general, so it's harder to break through, which means there needs to be more investment on USAT's part than for females and guys need to have the patience to get smacked in competition while they earn their stripes to break through. Second, from the talent ID aspect, there are less male runners with the extensive swim background as compared to the females. In swimming, there are less HS age boys swimming than girls... maybe less cool of a sport or maybe more sporting options for boys in the fall (football, wrestling) that girls don't have (if I was a guy I'd be swimming because that is where the girls are). All this said, we have some males in the pipeline now who will be 2020 contenders.

Tri Curious wrote:

Hi Barb,

Thanks for taking the time for q&a.

What kind of ability does one need if they are to develop into an international triathlete? What type of background do triathletes come from?

Background is running and swimming. We feel if you have the engine from either and are athletic, then you can learn the bike! If you have seen the times that are being run off the bike on measured courses (sub 29' for guys and 32' for Gwen), then you can see why we are recruiting runners!

All great questions! You'd be surprised how little time drop there is for the top elites running off the bike compared to the track fresh. It is NOT 2-3' as you said above. Top elite male triathletes are easily well under 1'/100 yards pace for 1000k and longer, with 1:45-50 200yd get out speed (all from a push). Brownlee was at the Stanford Invite I think in 2013 post-London and did that 10k. I don't know off hand what other elites have done, but I do know many triathletes use run races as ways to test and stay run ready.

To follow up further, on average the best elite triathletes are 3-5% slower off the bike than fresh. So if Gwen is running 33 low off the bike, that could put her 32 low or high 31. I hope she does take it to a road race or track race sometime after Rio to show us what she can do.

When I was racing they weren't quite as accurate on measuring courses as they are now. I ran 35:30 on a hilly first 10k of a duathlon but had multiple 36' 10k's off the bike. For swimming, I was 4:43 as a PR 500 in college. I never raced a meet as a triathlete, but from test sets I'd have to say I was easily 5:05-15 at altitude.

Hey Barb,

Thanks for doing this, I have tons of questions regarding the transition from collegiate runner to triathlete.

What can you tell us about Matt McElroy's progression in the last year? He went from a good college runner to a continental cup podium and top-15 (best run split) on his first World Cup.

I'm curious about what do you think we're the main factors in his development. Also what you think is possible for him and others that follow the same path.

Go Lumberjacks!

My apologies for messing up this thread by trying to give Barb a special bio.

Got it working now!

What are some times to get sponsored by even a small business

Hi! Thanks for doing this and providing info. I am an older runners who has only done 2 Tri's.

My problem with the sport was that it takes a type A personality who likes working on all of the minor details - transition, fluids. rules....

Is that a false impression? Can you be a relaxed and competitive athlete that doesn't sweat the small stuff?

I'm a 29 former runner and swimmer. I ran in college and have PR's of 14:43 for the 5k and 30:21 for the 10k. I also swam in HS (4:55 for 500free). Do you think I can be a olympic hopeful?

What can you tell us about Matt McElroy's progression in the last year? He went from a good college runner to a continental cup podium and top-15 (best run split) on his first World Cup.

I'm curious about what do you think we're the main factors in his development. Also what you think is possible for him and others that follow the same path.

Go Lumberjacks![/quote]

We've had quite a few NAU runners make the transition to triathlete, including Jason Pedersen. There is a runner with more eligibility left, Andy Trouard, who has been to our OTC camp and we are excited to work with once he is done with his NCAA eligibility.

Matt's improvement has been made by joining a squad. In High Performance we talk about the importance of being in a DTE, a daily training environment, with a coach present. Matt trains with a group in San Diego under Paulo Sousa, but just as important, he trains with guys who are better than him in the swim, and he gets exposure to open water swimming. The swim development rate will always be any runner's limiter into the sport and you have to swim with others and swim a lot to improve.

Last year Matt raced World Duathlon Champs and was 6th elite and 1st U23. So his run is competitive in the elite ranks.

PS, I'm a sort of closet NAU fan... maybe it is the mountain girl living at altitude that just loves Flagstaff....

Triathlete Tommy wrote:

What are some times to get sponsored by even a small business

Great question, Tommy! Making a living at any sport we love can be a challenge. For collegiate recruits, I tell them that they need to sell their potential vs. triathlon results. Also, it is always easier to start local vs. a national brand or sponsor. It is ideal to know people who know people in a marketing department of a local big company; or you have competed with athlete's whose parents own a company; or you support a local business with your business. Sponsorship is about relationships and it is also about what you can provide the sponsor. Maybe you can give a motivational speech or running clinic to their employees. So going back to your original question, if you start winning some local races and can show quick upside potential to sponsors, all of that helps. And if you have CRP backing, that can add some validity that it's not just you who believe in you, but a program with a track record believes in you. I hope that helps!

litesleeper wrote:

Hi! Thanks for doing this and providing info. I am an older runners who has only done 2 Tri's.

My problem with the sport was that it takes a type A personality who likes working on all of the minor details - transition, fluids. rules....

Is that a false impression? Can you be a relaxed and competitive athlete that doesn't sweat the small stuff?

You know that saying, "you create your own luck." I believe that by being organized and paying attention to the little details that you set yourself up for a good event, allowing the training part to show. Let's be honest, triathlon is a lot more difficult logistically than showing up at a road race. There are a myriad of little things that can go wrong and it doesn't take too much effort to make sure that 95% of them don't. But that is one of the reasons I love this sport! It rewards the thinking and organized person and you have to learn to roll with challenges that can come your way. Absolutely, you can do the sport and not sweat the small stuff, it's just more of a crap shoot on race day. Your call!

Late for the rain wrote:

I'm a 29 former runner and swimmer. I ran in college and have PR's of 14:43 for the 5k and 30:21 for the 10k. I also swam in HS (4:55 for 500free). Do you think I can be a olympic hopeful?

Rats, where were you an Olympiad ago?!? An interesting fact in our sport is that we've had world champs who are 20 and some over 30. It more depends about triathlon age, how many years in the sport. If you can still run a 14:43ish and swim 5:30 500yd free, then send me an email (barb@usatriathlon.org). The problem being so far from college is that most runners aren't still that run fit, unless you've just been running professionally, and if you are you'd probably be running faster than that. We are now 2020 focused obviously, so that puts you at 33-34 yrs old. But hey, I was 35 when I made our Olympic team!