I’VE WORKED SO HARD AND SO LONG I W TO GET TO THIS POINT AND
“ And he would
ANT TO CAPTURE THAT MOMENT. ”
certainly not let this setback curtail his Olympic dreams. But who was
Kemper kidding? Leading up to May’s Olympic qualifying race in San Diego, he hadn’t competed in seven months. He had only weeks of full-time training under his belt — because of a PICC line inserted in his arm for the IV, he couldn’t swim for months. He could only run and bike, and even those efforts were tough. And while other Americans raced around the world in preparation for San Diego and posed for magazine spreads as our country’s best bets for the Olympics, Kemper purposefully remained out of the spotlight, quietly training in Colorado Springs, focused solely on his own recovery and fitness. “I was in a dark, dark place, but the fact that I was able
PHOTO BY JANOS SCHMIDT/ITU
have my family, my friends and my faith. Not making the team wouldn’t change that.” Once the gun
went off, though, Kemper never gave that what-if another thought. With a solid swim, a strong bike and a blazing 30:27 10k split, he propelled
himself
Despite 13 screws in his elbow, multiple surgeries and an infection, Hunter Kemper made his fourth U.S. Olympic Team.
into fifth place (he needed a top-nine finish to qualify), becoming just the third triathlete ever to make all four
to run and bike, even at an easy level, helped,” he recalls. “I was out of shape, but I was healing, and that helped to motivate me.” Determined to be on that start line in San Diego,
Kemper made his final decision about the event just four weeks prior. He’d be there. His workouts were improving, and he could actually bend his arm again, so what did he have to lose? However the race turned out, he’d be satisfied merely making the attempt. “I asked myself, ‘What will my life look like if I don’t
make the team?’ There was a chance it wouldn’t happen, and I was at peace with that,” he says. “Being on the Olympic team again was not going to define who I am as a person. I would always be a three-time Olympian. I’d always
Olympic triathlon events. Whether it was determination, experience, or even just a touch of divine intervention, everything clicked for Kemper on that sunny Saturday afternoon. After crossing the finish line, he once again hoisted the American flag above his head in celebration as throngs of fans chanted “U.S.A.” around him. It was, as Kemper recalls, ”One of the greatest moments of my life.” And a moment that he hopes to repeat this August
in London. Kemper does not plan on taking his fourth Olympic campaign lightly. He wants to win. With a career-best seventh-place finish in Beijing, Kemper has locked his sights on the podium and the first-ever Olympic medal for American men in triathlon. From here until August, he’ll stay close to Colorado Springs, quietly training like he did before San Diego, focusing on the one thing that has eluded him in his 14-year-long pro career. “To win a medal has been my dream since I’ve been
a kid,” he says. “It’s unfinished business. I’ve worked so hard and so long to get to this point and I want to capture that moment. I want to stand on the podium and celebrate.”
USATRIATHLON.ORG USA TRIATHLON 51
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