Olya Perevalova has come a long way from her humble life in Russia. Now, the amateur marathoner is aiming for a goal she never thought she'd reach, the U.S. women's Olympic team.
David Bailey and Ricky James are side-by-side and the wind is howling. They are on their handcycles and both of these athletes certainly understand the ups and downs of life more than most.
With everything on the line, Hunter Kemper came up HUGE.
Hunter Kemper is not what you would call the most emotional guy on the planet. After all, he is 32 now and competed in his first Ironkids event when he was 10. For the past 12 years, he has raced professionally, been ranked number one in the world, raced on the first two U.S. Olympic Triathlon Teams in Sydney and Athens, represented his country in the Pan American Games and won events like the Life Time Fitness Triathlon where the prize purse was a cool $200,000.
But when you look at the picture on this page of Hunter Kemper, he is not his usual poised and collected self. Nope. He is out-of-his-mind ecstatic because he knows, deep down, that he had just finished the most important race of his life. It was the bottom of the ninth, the bases were loaded, there were two outs and his team was down by three.
And he jacked it out of the park.
For the past year and a half, Kemper has struggled with injuries. He had an SI joint issue that affected his glutes and his lower back. That was followed by a hernia that was diagnosed this past winter. One U.S. Olympic spot had already been nabbed over in Beijing by Jarrod Shoemaker last summer, and the second was taken by Matt Reed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in April. Kemper was at both races, but not in the hunt for the win. That meant that the two Americans who have been our very best over the past four years – 2004 Olympian and 70.3 World Champion Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper – would be racing in Des Moines on June 22 for that third and final Olympic spot. “It was a pressure-packed situation, that’s for sure,” says Kemper.
Five weeks before the race Kemper could barely train because of the hernia. “It hurt to do flip turns, and I simply could not run,” he admits. “I told my wife Valerie that I was going to have to pull the plug and have the surgery. There was no chance I could race.”
Then a doctor in Denver recommended that he try a shot of cortisone to ease the discomfort. “I thought he was going to give me a numbing shot first,” laughs Kemper. “But after the needle was in there for like 15 seconds I started breathing heavy, sweating, crying, and grabbing stuff to hold on to. I was just hoping that this was the real shot because the pain was unbelievable.”
The next day, Kemper felt like himself again. “80 percent of the pain went away right away,” he says. “I was finally able to run.”
Come race day, Kemper, the former number one in the world, was on the starting line wearing number 31 in a pro field of 40. Just in front of him (also stationed in the cheap seats) was number 29, Andy Potts. Kemper came out of the water just behind Potts and took the lead early on the bike. No one was willing to make a move so it was not surprising when 28 guys got off their bikes at basically the same time. “I got on to the run quickly and had 10-12 seconds on Andy after lap one,” he says. He built on the lead over Potts and had over 20 seconds going into the third lap. That’s when he knew he had it. “I really enjoyed that last lap,” he remembers, grinning. “When I hit the finish and had the American flag draped around me, I just lost it. That is a moment I will remember forever.”
Now it’s on to Beijing and his third Olympic team. “I appreciate this even more than the other two because it was such a struggle just to get here. In 2000 the triathlon was on the second day of the games, so I didn’t march in the opening ceremonies. In 2004 I was 28 years old, ranked fifth in the world and totally focused on bringing home a medal, so I didn’t march then either. Now I have a sense of peace and calm and want to embrace the entire Olympic experience. I’ll walk in the opening ceremonies and enjoy every single moment I’m there. My dream since I was a kid was to be an Olympian.”
And now he gets to do it one more time.
Before and after the Olympics, Hunter Kemper is also going to be focusing on the events that make up The Race To The Toyota Cup. It’s a series unlike anything that has been part of the sport of triathlon since the days of the U.S. Triathlon Series back in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The Race To The Toyota Cup is a collection of five major events around the country. It consists of Life Time Fitness on July 12 in Minneapolis; Nautica on July 20 in New York City; Accenture on August 24 in Chicago; Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles on September 7; and the culmination, The Toyota U.S. Open on October 5 in Dallas. A major draw for the pros is that they can make a significant payday if they perform well. The total purse? $1,440,000. If a pro guy or pro gal happens to win all five events (like Aussie Greg Bennett did last year), then add another $300,000 to that bottom line.
It’s also a place for top amateurs to see if they have what it takes to compete with the very best in the world and take home a Toyota Cup. The top five elite amateur guys and gals from each of the first four events will receive free airfare and a hotel for Dallas and the Toyota U.S. Open.
Plus, even though they’ll need to pay their own way, the top-10 age group athletes in each event will get an invitation to Dallas as well.
So will Greg Bennett and Emma Snowsill repeat as Toyota Cup Champions? Can Hunter Kemper take the series title and an Olympic medal in the same year? Will Andy Potts come back from his disappointment over not making it to Beijing by dominating the series?
| Comments |
|
When women come together for sport, great things can happen. 
