Olympics one day? Manuel believes so. He leaves his family and friends
in Miami to train in Colorado Springs, then Switzerland with Team TBB, and finally, in Costa Rica, where he sets up a training base in a secluded spot 7,000 feet above sea level in the Irazu Volcano. After climbing the ITU ranks for a few years, he’s among the American men to watch in the Olympic year. The little boy who came to this country with nothing is within reach of gaining everything he ever wanted as an athlete: to represent his adopted home on sports’ greatest stage. Still, Huerta knew this
dream would not come true without a perfect race in San Diego. “There are so many variables
“Triathlon has changed so much since Hunter began
racing [in 1998] and he has been able to change with it. He actually gets better with age,” says Huerta. “I hope I can do the same. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from him during our time together in London.” A realist, Huerta knows not to expect another flawless
BACK IN 30 YEARS ‘ AND SAY,WOW, I WAS AN OLYMPIAN.’ ”
I W “ANT TO LOOK
with ITU races,” he explains of the draft-legal and super- technical style of racing. “It might take a miracle, it might take everything on race day to fall in the right place. You may be in the shape of your life and if something goes wrong, it could change everything.” But nothing went wrong for Huerta that day, and
when he sprinted down the bright blue carpet toward the finish, it was as though he was floating. As though the weight of his past hardships — not only his rough upbringing but the death of his father to cancer in 2010 and his mother’s subsequent battle with the disease — were lifted off his narrow shoulders, giving him an air of lightness that effortlessly carried his 125-pound frame along the home stretch. “That was my entire life’s work,”
says Huerta of his performance. “It was not just a two-hour-long effort, I spent my whole life working towards that goal.” Granted, this is just the beginning
for Huerta. After all, there’s an even bigger race in London coming up, followed by what Huerta hopes will be a lengthy career. For that, he looks to fellow Olympian Hunter Kemper as a role model, hoping to duplicate his longevity and success.
race at his first-ever Olympics. Still, he asserts that he’s not taking a field trip to the U.K. “A medal would be great, but
there are so many amazing guys out there. My goal is to finish in the top 10,” he says. “I just want to prepare the best I can and gain everything possible out of the experience.” And with his girlfriend,
Argentinian triathlete Pierina Luncio, and his mom (now
stable after chemo and surgery to treat her melanoma) joining him in London, he plans to make the most of every second he’s not racing, too. “I’ll go to the Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony,
and go watch some other events,” he says. “I want to look back in 30 years and say, ‘Wow, I was an Olympian, and those were some amazing memories.’”
Huerta’s “perfect day” at ITU World Triathlon San Diego gave the 28-year- old a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. PHOTO BY PAUL PHILLIPS/COMPETITIVE IMAGE
USATRIATHLON.ORG USA TRIATHLON 53
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