Meet Michael O'Brien. Michael is a high school athlete who has been swimming with Coach Mark Saroni since 2016, "and it's been great," he says. Last weekend, Michael took on the challenge and did his first triathlon: the Kerrville Triathlon Festival - Quarter Distance! His highlight from the race? Meeting new people and crossing the finish line.
Age: 17
Grade: 12th
How long have you been swimming and doing triathlons? I have been swimming ever since I was in kindergarten, but I really started becoming competitive in it when I was in 10th grade
Why do you like swimming and now triathlons? I have always liked swimming, because I felt like it was a good way to keep in shape and have fun with friends. My first desire to do a triathlon came from when I watched my mom do her first one, when I was in elementary school. I told myself then that I would eventually do one. When I started training with Mark, I felt like it was a perfect opportunity to finally do one. What I liked most about the [Kerrville Quarter] triathlon was the environment - everyone was so encouraging and proud of me for doing it, which is a really rare type of environment for any sport to have.
Favorite post-workout or race meal: The family style pasta and salad that we had the night before the race.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A successful businessman.
Tell us something no one knows about you: I was born with physical disability on my right hand called ulnar dysplasia. This disability means that i have only 3 fingers on my right hand.
Make sure to send your pictures from training and racing to: racing@paragontraining.org so we can showcase all the rad stuff you guys do.
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