Triathlon has changed in many ways over the last 40-plus years. Before bike racks, transition zones, timing chips and wave starts, there was the very first organized triathlon, which was held in reverse order (run, bike, swim) in San Diego, California, in 1974. USA Triathlon Kids’ junior reporters caught up with Olympians Laura and Greg Bennett and Hunter Kemper, who got their start in the sport as youth and junior triathletes in the mid-1980s. In the winter 2018 issue of USA Triathlon Kids, the Bennetts and Kemper share their multisport journeys and how the sport has evolved.
Laura and Greg Bennett
U.S. Olympian (2008, 2012), Australian Olympian (2004)
Interview by Kenleigh Cates, 9, Kentucky
Hunter Kemper
U.S. Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
Interview by Elan Satchit, 11, New York
(Interviews were conducted in fall 2017.)
Get to Know Our Junior Reporters
Kenleigh Cates, 9, Kentucky
- Year she started triathlon: 2016
- What she likes best about triathlon: “The run because I think I am a strong runner and I like it the best.”
- What it was like to interview an Olympian: “I thought it was interesting because it isn’t every day you get to meet or talk to an Olympian.”
- The coolest thing she learned about triathlon back in the day: “That it became an Olympic sport in 2000.”
Elan Satchit, 11, New York
- Year he started triathlon: 2013
- What he likes best about triathlon: “Having a like-minded and driven community.”
- What it was like to interview an Olympian: “It was very cool because I have never done anything like this and to think that would be me one day was very exciting!”
- The coolest thing he learned about triathlon back in the day: “It was way harder for people back then because they didn’t have certain types of technology that we have now.”
