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| Hunter Kemper competed for the U.S. Olympic triathlon team in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 with a best finish of 7th in Beijing in 2008. He is one of two athletes in the world to compete in all four Olympic triathlons and the only one to finish all four. Hunter won seven USA Triathlon Elite National Championships. In 2005, he was ranked No. 1 in the world. His two dozen plus major victories include Escape from Alcatraz (twice), and ITU events in Japan, Mexico, China, Honduras, Spain and Canada. Hunter has been on the podium (top three) in over twenty ITU races. His Lifetime Fitness ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Triathlon win in 2006 earned him $250,000, the biggest payday in triathlon history. He won the 2003 Pan American Games triathlon Gold medal. Hunter was five-time IronKids National champion from ages 10 to 14. He earned 12 letters at Lake Brantley(FL) High School in cross country, swimming and track. Hunter is a 1998 Wake Forest University graduate, an eight-time letterman in cross country and track, and All-ACC at 10,000 meters. He was ambassador for the 2013 Hy-Vee IronKids Midwest Series. Hunter has appeared on the cover of Wheaties’ cereal boxes four times. His major awards include 2005 USOC Sportsman of the Year, 2005 Jim Thorpe All Around Award, 2005 Triathlete Magazine Athlete of the Year, USOC Triathlete of the Year (2005, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999), 1998 USA Triathlon Pro Rookie of the Year, 1997 USA Triathlon Amateur Triathlete of the Year and induction into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife, Val. They have four sons, Davis, Hudson and Case, and a fourth child is due in November of this year. For news about Hunter and his schedule, visit www.hunterkemper.com |
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| GCR: | You are one of only two triathletes in the world to have qualified for and participated in all four Olympic triathlons since it was added as an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Can you put into perspective what this means? |
| HK | Yes, I am one of only two athletes to qualify for all four Olympic triathlons along with Simon Whitfield from Canada. I have been in Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. Hopefully if I stay healthy and have a little bit of luck I can be in Rio in 2016 as I do the ‘Drive for Five.’ That will be a historic accomplishment as Simon Whitfield has semi-retired from Olympic distance triathlons and has moved on to longer races. It’s something special to me, that I hold to high regard, and am excited about and proud of. I am passionate for the Olympic Games and that is why I have had that perseverance for so long. |
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| GCR: | It is a dream of many to put on the uniform of their country to compete in the Olympics or World Championships. How do you feel when you step onto the big stage with the USA uniform to represent much more than just your own efforts? |
| HK | It is exactly right that I am representing more than just me. That is what it embodies when I put on that uniform and I think about all of the people who have helped me to get there. I use the analogy of an iceberg in that I am the tip of the iceberg of my racing. What you see on the race course is what I accomplish, but there are so many people that are ‘beneath the water’ and that are around me that others don’t see. Those people help me get to where I am, mean a lot to me and are my rock. Representing the United States flag and putting on the uniform for them as well as me is an experience that hopefully allows me to give back to my support group and to let them know that they have helped me to get to the Olympic Games. |
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| GCR: | The Olympic distance triathlon of a 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run typically comes down to the run since drafting is legal on the bike segment. What do you do to manage the first two triathlon segments so that you can focus on racing strong during the run? |
| HK | In professional competitions in the U.S. and for age group triathletes such as you it is a non-draft sport, but since our sport is a draft-legal in the Olympics it puts more emphasis on the swim. A competitor has to swim quickly and make the front group out of the water to get into the lead bike group, protect himself on the bike and then get off on the run and run fast. An example is at the Olympic Games last year in London there were 55 guys on the start line and only 20 or 22 of us made the front group. So, forty percent of the athletes got away in the front group while sixty percent of the competitors were left behind. By the end of the bike segment we were two minutes ahead coming off of the bike and starting the run so the race was already over for over half of the field. In order to manage the race I swim really, really hard and make sure I am in the front between fifth place and tenth or at least, fifteenth, coming out of the water. I’m a solid swimmer. I am a strong biker, but have to know when to use it. On the bike you must save effort for the run and everyone is doing that so the bike can be relatively slow. On the bike we share the work and each of us puts in time at the front, but we get into the pack, benefit from the draft and save our legs. Coming into transition two from the bike to run it is important to be in the top five to lead out of T2 and into the first kilometer of the run. The leaders will go out in 2:40 to 2:45 for the first kilometer which is blazing fast. You have to be ready to roll and ready to fly. The winner in the Olympics last year ran the 10k in 29:07 after swimming, biking and a few 180 degree U-turns on the run course. So it took him a high 28 minute 10k effort to win the Gold Medal. The sport has changed and is much faster. At the age of 37 I am trying to get faster with it still. |
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| GCR: | Let’s take a look back at your athletic career starting with your childhood triathlon beginnings, cross country and track racing in high school and college, and then on to your professional career. How did you first get interested in the triathlon in elementary school when most kids are playing sports such as Little League baseball and Pee-Wee football? |
| HK | I was six years old when I started swimming with Clay Parnell and his Barracudas swim team back in the day. I grew up in Altamonte Springs, Florida in the Sweetwater area on Sweetwater Cove Boulevard where I was playing basketball, soccer and Little League baseball. I was good at all sports, but I realized after a while that I was very good at swimming. Then I found the sport of triathlon through some swimming buddies on mine and did my first triathlon at the age of ten in Clermont, Florida at Fred Sommers’ series of races. I beat two other ten years olds and the distances were a 100 yard swim, three mile bike and a one kilometer run. It took me 17 minutes. I enjoyed it and liked winning even thought there were only a couple other kids in my age division. It just progressed from there as I gravitated toward a sport where I was good. |
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| GCR: | You had tremendous success in the Iron Kids competition winning five National Championships. Could you describe some racing highlights and what type of training you were doing those first few years as a youngster? |
| HK | When I was young and training for the sport of triathlon I wasn’t doing that much. I went to swim practice and ran with my running team at Rock Lake Middle School. I would also run at recess and rode my bike some after school, but it wasn’t that organized for me. I was enjoying and having fun with it. The Iron Kids National Championship in my first year of 1986 was at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. I won that title and won in Arizona a couple times and in Texas. What I remember most was that as a 13 year old I had won three titles in a row at ages 10, 11 and 12, was going for my fourth National title in a row and I had to race with 13 and 14 year olds. I was trying to beat the fourteen year olds which hadn’t been done previously by a 13 year old. It’s only a one year age difference, but can be big physically when you are growing as a boy. I did win by less than ten seconds, it was a big deal and I was featured in the ‘Faces in the Crowd’ section in Sports Illustrated magazine. |
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| GCR: | During your prep years at Lake Brantley (FL) High School you raced cross country and track. What did Coach Charlie Harris do to help you progress as a runner and what races stand out for big breakthroughs or racing tough opponents strongly such as your future Olympic triathlon teammate, Nick Radkewich, who went to neighboring Lyman High School? |
| HK | Coach Harris gave me the flexibility to swim as well as to run cross country and track. I ran cross country in the fall, went right into swimming and then to track in the spring so the sports crossed over a bit. Coach Harris and my swim coach Parnell both knew that triathlon was my focus and they were accommodating with my training schedules. I wasn’t a stand out runner in high school. I was always in the top three on our cross country and in track I scored some points. I didn’t win any big titles as I was a ten minute two-miler and a 4:36 miler so that wasn’t scholarship worthy of a top running school. I enjoyed my time as a triathlete and competing in high school where I was Lake Brantley’s first 12-letter athlete. I was proud of that distinction. Nick ran for Coach Fink at Lyman while I ran for Coach Harris at Lake Brantley, but Nick was a few years ahead of me. Our paths didn’t cross much in high school, but did in triathlons and we did go to the Olympics together. |
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| GCR: | Why did you decide to go to Wake Forest University? |
| HK | One of the reasons I went to Wake Forest was that I also applied to some top southern academic schools such as Duke and North Carolina and I was accepted to Wake Forest. I had good grades, took many Advanced Placement classes and had over a 4.0 GPA. It was a great fit for me because it was a great running school. Wake Forest and North Carolina State were always battling it out in the ACC in cross country for conference titles and were ranked in the top twenty schools nationally. It was a great program and I wanted to focus athletically on improving my running. I didn’t take my swim trunks and bike with me. |
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| GCR: | How did those four years of switching your focus from triathlons to becoming a better runner springboard you to be a much improved triathlete when you finished up your collegiate eligibility? |
| HK | Running was my weakness as I felt my swimming was solid and my biking had come around. My running was good, but to be a professional triathlete like Mark Allen, Greg Welch or Mike Pigg that I admired I had to improve my running. I did that for four years and came out of college a much better runner. My two-mile dropped from 10:00 to around 9:00, I went from a slow 10k runner to going as fast as 30:16 and I ran a 14:24 5k. They were not nationally ranked times but they were good for me. I felt that if I had one more year I would have improved even more, but I graduated in 1998 and turned professional to pursue the Olympic Games. |
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| GCR: | What did your college coach do in terms of adding mileage or other elements of training that helped you to become a stronger runner and better racer? |
| HK | My coach was John Goodrich and he was a good coach for me. I believe a main job of a coach is to train athletes in a way to keep them injury-free and to develop a great team atmosphere. At Wake Forest in both cross country and track we had great teams that consisted of great people with excellent leadership qualities. I was trying to become a high mileage runner, but at six feet, two and a half inches I am lean, but big for a runner in the amount of weight which I carry. I got some stress fractures because I my body couldn’t take the high mileage. I was getting stress fractures when I ran 100 mile weeks, but didn’t when I ran 70 mile weeks with more intensity so my coach kept me at that training level. Ultimately, the lower mileage helped me because I stayed free from injuries and healthy. That allowed me to race well and reach some goals we set. What I learned was what I was capable of handling in training and what workouts worked best for me. I improved my speed with track training and could even do a 51 second quarter mile when I left school which was pretty good for this slow distance runner. |
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| GCR: | While you were in college the announcement was made that the triathlon would be added to the Olympics in 2000. Did you know that when you graduated you were going to become a professional triathlete and train for Sydney? |
| HK | While I was in school my sophomore year in 1995 they announced that triathlon was being added as an Olympic sport in 2000. I always wanted to be a professional triathlete. That was my goal as to what I wanted to do with my life after college. I wanted to turn pro so when they announced the triathlon would be in the Olympics that became my goal. I always wanted to compete in the Olympics when I was a kid. I would wear a gold hat around the house and follow the careers of swimmers like Janet Evans and Matt Biondi, while I also followed the running community. I wanted to go to the Olympic Games in swimming or running. As I got older I realized that was hard to do and just how difficult it is to make it to the Olympics in any sport. My times weren’t fast enough in swimming or running so when they made the announcement about the Olympic triathlon it was a blessing as triathlon was my best sport. Now I could become a professional triathlete and aim to make my childhood dream of competing in the Olympics a reality. That became my sole focus and is still my focus today. I love the Olympic Games and what they embody. I moved to Colorado Springs after I graduated in 1998 to the biggest Olympic training facility in the country, became a resident with free housing and food so I could focus on training and performing to the best of my abilities. |
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| GCR: | You won the 1997 USA Triathlon Amateur National Championship and followed that up with USA Pro National Championships the next two years and a Silver medal at the 1999 Pan Am Games. Were you really in a good groove as you prepared for your first Olympic Trials? |
| HK | Things were really clicking for me. I won amateur nationals in Maryland between my junior and senior years in college when I was twenty-one years old and I realized that the next step for me would be to turn pro. I did that and won the Elite U.S. National Championships in both 1998 and 1999, so I was in a good groove. Getting a Silver medal at a major international meet was good and the Pan Am Games were where I got to wear the U.S. uniform for the first time representing our country. I realized I was doing well though I was young, but I knew I had a good chance to make the Olympic team when I compared where I stacked up with other U.S. athletes. |
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| GCR: | How did it feel to win the 2000 Olympic Trials and to know that you had realized your goal of becoming an Olympian? |
| HK | It is a special day as you train a long time for that one day. The U.S. Trials were held in Dallas, Texas and it was great competing in front of my family. My parents were there and so was my sister. It was a dream realized. I hope that all who are reading this have dreams and goals which they set out to achieve. I hope people write those dreams down and dream big. To me when a goal is achieved that I have had for a long time I feel a sense of accomplishment, enjoy for a while and then set new goals. For me I was going to the Olympics, but now my new goal was a medal which is still a goal of mine. Back to the feeling of making the Olympic team, it’s a feeling that once you accomplish, you want to do it again. |
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| GCR: | What are top memories of the Sydney Olympics including your competition, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, attending other events and travelling in Australia? |
| HK | The biggest thing for triathletes was that it was the first Olympics for our sport and we were featured quite heavily. Australia is a country where triathlons are very popular so we were an opening day event. Opening Ceremonies were on Friday, the women competed on Day One on Saturday, and the men competed Day Two on Sunday. We weren’t allowed to walk in the Opening Ceremonies because they were so close to out events. There is a long time where the athletes are in staging and standing around before entering the tunnel of the stadium to the track so it isn’t beneficial to be on our feet for so long so close to our competition. It was disappointing to skip the Opening Ceremonies, but I was able to stay for the entire Games and walk in the Closing Ceremonies which were more of a celebration and party. I finished 17th in the Olympics and was top American. I was quite humbled by the high level of international competition. I was a bit disappointed in my finish position, but when I reflected on the Games I was happy that I was able to stay for two weeks and watch the best sports in the world like Ian Thorpe in swimming and great beach volleyball competition which was a new event. It is two weeks I will never forget. I was just dating my wife for three months, whose name was Valerie Sterk at the time, and she was an alternate on the women’s volleyball team. She was there with me for support and so was my family so it was an amazing two weeks of sport as we watched the best athletes in the world. It is a time I will never forget. |
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| GCR: | Sticking with the Olympic theme, could you briefly relate memories that stand out from your next Olympics in Athens? |
| HK | Coming into the Athens Olympics in 2004 I was the top-ranked American and projected to win a medal. Our competition was on the 11th day of a 16 day Olympic program so we were sort of buried in the middle. I finished ninth and was quite disappointed I must admit. The course didn’t really play into my strength on the bike as there was a steep hill each lap on a five lap bike course. Since I am a bigger guy hills aren’t my strong point. I was top American again. I had much more fun at Sydney as they were my first Games. Athens also was a city where much was done at the last minute before the Games as the economy was tough and it seemed like the paint was just finishing drying on some of the venues. It was the least favorite of my four Olympic Games, but I still had a great time and enjoyed it. |
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| GCR: | Four years later you made your third Olympic team. What does the Beijing Olympics bring to mind? |
| HK | In 2008 in Beijing it was memorable because those Games were so grand. China is a communist country and the government decided to have an amazing Opening Ceremonies that spared no expense and was over the top. They moved cars out of downtown to reduce pollution by only allowing drivers with odd or even license plate numbers in town on corresponding dates because the air quality was one of the big talking points of those Games. They lined their highways with flowers to make the city look as green as possible. They were very accommodating and weren’t short for volunteers. In Beijing I walked in the Opening Ceremonies for the first time which was very special. It was a great Olympic Games for me as I finished seventh and I was ecstatic about that performance. I had health issues before the Games and had a sports hernia. I tried to train as well as I could, but seventh place was all I could do as I was in quite a bit of pain leading up to the Games. Fortunately, I was able to perform pain-free on my day of competition. It was thrilling to be in that part of the world and to see the Great Wall of China. |
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| GCR: | Then last year you made an amazing fourth Olympic team and went to London. What was similar and different this time around? |
| HK | London was quite enjoyable as I felt that the 2012 Olympics could possibly be my last Games. I tried to enjoy every moment and see many other events. I walked in both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, went to a lot of parties, but was still serious about my event. What was very special about the London Games is that I have a family now. I got married in 2003 and at the time of the London Games had three boys who were five, two and an infant. What was exciting was that my oldest son, Davis, got to watch me compete as he was at the competition with my wife. My parents, sister, her husband and many of my friends were there which made it a great experience. I had a poor run and don’t know exactly why it happened but in our sport it comes down to one day as there are no Olympic preliminary races. There is a final and all 55 athletes race for close to two hours. You wake up on the day and hope you have the legs to try and win a medal. Even though I finished 14th I was happy to be there at my fourth Olympic Games. I don’t know if I will make the 2016 Rio Olympics as I will turn forty years old before those Games and it will be a historic moment if that happens. |
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| GCR: | You were ranked as the number one triathlete in the world in 2005. What were you doing in training and racing that propelled you to be the most consistent top racer that year? |
| HK | After the 2004 Athens Olympics I made a decision to change some things up to try to get better. Early in my career I didn’t focus on my nutrition as I ate what I wanted. I figured that I trained so much and burned so many calories that I could eat anything. Then after Athens I refocused my nutrition with regard to my training. I started eating more whole fruits and more vegetables. I switched to wheat bread instead of white bread and reduced eating processed foods. I worked on the timing of what I ate such as eating protein 30 to 60 minutes post-workout to refuel my body. My nutrition changes helped me to recover between workouts and got me to the races feeling better. I was ranked number one in the world for all of 2005 and much of 2006, which was a long time, until I got injured. I had a run where I got to feel what it was like to be on top of the world for a couple of years. |
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| GCR: | One of my favorite triathlons to watch on television is the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon which you have won twice. Can you describe the uniqueness and toughness of that race? |
| HK | It is a unique race and I have been fortunate to win it twice in 2005 and 2010. I want to go back and hopefully win it again. The start is distinctive because the athletes are taken out on a cruise boat to the island, the ‘Rock,’ where they used to house prisoners. The Elites go first and jump into 55 degree water that is supposedly shark-infested and swim a mile and a half point-to-point to the San Francisco shoreline. It looks like a long way when we are standing at the start, is daunting and a bit overwhelming. Then there is an 18 mile bike ride and an eight mile trail run. The run goes up a long, steep sand ladder and the race is an iconic event. It is one that once you do you want to do again. |
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| GCR: | What other triathlon races come to mind when you think of big races, very close finishes or unique courses from your career? |
| HK | I love to race in Australia and New Zealand as racing in that part of the world in the Southern Hemisphere is an amazing place. They love the sport of triathlon so I love racing in those countries. It is also a beautiful part of the world. Lifetime Fitness put on a race for several years called ‘The Battle of the Sexes’ with top guys versus girls. It started in Minneapolis in 2000 and the girls got a head start based on some timing formula that would try to equalize the race. They got about an 11 minute head start and the goal of the race organizers was to try to have a sprint finish where the lead woman was leading the top man and there was a battle in the final 100 meters for a big paycheck. The overall winner, male or female, earned $200,000 which was by far the biggest payday in our sport. I was lucky to win it in 2006, the year my wife was pregnant with our first child and we were moving into a new house. It was quite emotional for me. The race was by invitation only and pitted the best 18 men and 18 women from all over the world. In Des Moines, Iowa there is the Hy-Vee triathlon sponsored by that big grocery chain that is very health-conscious. They focus on health and well-being with their customer base and they sponsor a big triathlon on Labor Day weekend which I got back from a little while ago. They put up a huge prize purse that used to be $150,000 to win and is now $100,000 for the win. I’ve finished second there three times in a row and haven’t won the big paycheck, but hope to do so in upcoming years before I hit the age of forty. |
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| GCR: | Let’s take a quick look at your training volume and intensity. How many miles or hours per week do you spend running, biking and swimming when you are building your base for the season? |
| HK | During different parts of the year the hours change. Overall I spend six to eight hours each week in the pool swimming 20,000 to 25,000 meters. I bike 200 to 250 miles per week and I run between 60 and 75 miles a week. Those are the ranges I am in throughout the year. I do about four hours a week of strength training and conditioning. It is about a thirty hour work week. It’s solid and what I do for a living. I have great sponsors that help me out in Toyota, USA Triathlon Federation, Cigna and others that help make this possible to be a professional athlete and to do what I love to do. |
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| GCR: | What are some of your ‘bread-and-butter’ workouts to build stamina and speed in each of the three disciplines? |
| HK | My bread and butter running workout is six by a mile. I love doing a 10k worth of work. They usually start about five minute mile pace and work down to 4:40 pace. I rest a minute in between or as much as 90 seconds. It isn’t a lot of recovery, but I aim to get my heart rate below 120 before the next fast mile repeat. That workout makes me feel good. Biking varies but one of my top-end, high watts, threshold workouts is thirty by a minute hard with a minute easy. So it is an hour with thirty minutes of work and thirty minutes of recovery. That helps with my high-end strength and by the last ten seconds of each hard one minute interval my legs are really burning. I have to do the repetition pace that works just right that isn’t too tough in the beginning but that I can do thirty times. At the end I can barely make it through the minute interval. In swimming there are all kinds of workouts I do. I like 12 or 15 by 100 meters which helps my swimming like the repeat miles help my running. I do the 100 meters in about one minute and ten seconds and have a total interval of about 1:25, so my rest is only around 15 seconds. These workouts help me to feel that I am on top of my game. |
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| GCR: | What differences have you made in your training as you are now in your middle-to-late thirties? |
| HK | The main thing for me is attention to recovery. When I was younger I could do three hard workouts in each discipline of running, swimming and biking per week and now I can only do two of each. On the bike and for my run I would do a tempo workout, a threshold workout and a high-intensity workout where now I do two of them. I also do ice baths for recovery, often wear compression boots and usually get a weekly massage. I do all of this and eat protein right after my workouts to aid in recovery. |
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| GCR: | It is still three years until the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics. How exciting is the prospect of a fifth Olympics which you are calling the ‘Drive for Five’ and do you see retirement from the professional triathlon ranks looming afterward? |
| HK | For me the excitement is the ‘Drive for Five’ and making history in that regard. In a sport where you probably shouldn’t be able to go to five Olympic Games it would be very special so Rio is on my mind. Even three years out it is still a focus for me. As far as retirement afterward – I think so as I will be forty in 2016. I will probably race one more year in 2017 as kind of a swan song and fun year. I would like to race in some races I have never competed in before and enjoy those events. Then I will probably retire from the sport of triathlon and find passion for something else. |
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| GCR: | You were the official ambassador for the 2013 Hy-Vee Iron Kids Midwest Series of 20 youth triathlons. How rewarding is it to work with youngsters who are a reflection of what you were doing 25 years ago and what do you see yourself doing to be involved in the sport of triathlon after your competitive days end? |
| HK | I am the spokesperson for that series and readers can learn more about it by visiting www.HyVeeIronKids.com. There is a lot of great information to help kids with their training. I have put together a six week training program for kids which is adjusted for the Hy-Vee Iron Kids age groups from age six to 15. The series is a 20 race series in Midwest sates which culminates with the Hy-Vee Iron Kids National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa. I appeared at five of the 20 races and was cheering the kids on. It was great to see as my passion is for helping our youth and for getting people active especially in this day and age where so many are sedentary all day as they are on the computer, their iPad or iPhone. I want to see kids out and about and getting healthy. The races help kids with their confidence and their self-esteem. When I retire I want to continue in the sport of triathlon helping youth and possibly starting my own race series with kids. I want to have twin focuses – on the serious kid who wants to be the best like I wanted to be and to really focus on getting lots of kids introduced to the sport of triathlon, getting them healthy and helping them to have an active lifestyle. I hope that after kids do an event that they start thinking that they want to ride their bikes more, swim at a local pool and be active. |
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| GCR: | A balanced life can keep one grounded and help through life’s ups and downs. How do your faith, your wife and your family of three children that is soon to become four kids provide stability, steadiness and strength in your life? |
| HK | You hit it on the head as balance is so key as far as I am concerned. My faith is first in foremost in my life. My love for Jesus Christ and being Christian is very important for me. I became a believer over fifteen years ago and what grounds me and keeps me humble is knowing that I can do triathlons on my own and where I get my strength and my ability each day is from my lord and savior. My family also gives me strength. My wife keeps me humble and grounded. She is a stay-at-home mom and I love how she enjoys taking care of our kids and being around for them. We have a young family with a six year old, three year old and an almost two year old with another on the way. They are all boys and we are hoping for a girl, but we just want a healthy baby. I love children and wanted a big family and so does my wife. I don’t know if we will have more kids after this. My kids keep me grounded because they don’t understand what I do in the sport of triathlon. Their concern is whether dad is going to play with them that day and head out to the back yard to throw the football around. My oldest son did his first triathlon this year and it was quite enjoyable to be a part of that and to see him race. I don’t want to push him into a sport he doesn’t want to do but he does want to be like dad in many ways. Whether he pursues it or not I want him to find something that he loves to do like I did in the sport of triathlon and to find a passion and go after whatever dreams he has. |
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| GCR: | You have earned many honors including 2005 USOC Sportsman of the Year, 2005 Jim Thorpe All-Around Award, Five-time USOC Triathlete of the Year, 2008 Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame Inductee and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics Torchbearer. Could you have imagined such a career when you were that little elementary school kid just starting in triathlon? |
| HK | I couldn’t have imagined this at all. It was humbling to be inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame which was so special for me. I went in with Tim Duncan who will go down in history as one of the greatest power forwards to ever play the game of basketball. Carrying the Olympic torch in 2002 was a great experience. I was the first triathlete to be the USOC Sportsman of the Year and to achieve that when I was number one in the sport of triathlon in the world in 2005. So all of these things were so huge that I couldn’t have dreamed that big. All I wanted to do was to follow my love of the sport of triathlon and to see where that took me. I have been very blessed to see our sport grow in popularity. I think it has because people want something to feel good and confident about. It gives them that confidence just like people get who complete a 5k, 10k or marathon run. You know what that feels like as you try to achieve certain goals and times. The sport of triathlon does that even more so as swimming, biking and running combine to give a great sense of accomplishment. Our sport is growing fast as all ages can do it and you can do it even if you are eighty years old. |
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| GCR: | With your excellent athletic career, is there anything you think you could have done differently that may have helped you to have better results or outcomes, especially at the Olympics where you did finish in the top ten, but a medal has so far proved elusive? |
| HK | I don’t think that I have looked back at it like that. There may have been little things I could have done differently, but in the end I am very happy with how my career has progressed. The Olympic Games are very difficult. I have tried to win a medal and it is just hard as we all race against the best athletes in the world on that one day. I’ve been the best in the U.S. for so long and I’ve been the best in the world, but just not during the Olympic Games. If there had been an Olympics in 2005 or 2006 I may have been the Olympic Games Gold medalist. But in 2008 I had that sports hernia. You have to stay healthy along the way. The joy is in the journey of what we go through with ups and downs. The failures and obstacles that we each overcome are what builds our character and provides the biggest sense of reward when we go through it and overcome them to reach new heights. I’ve done that throughout my career and I won’t stop pushing through the Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio. |
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| GCR: | When you give a short summary to groups of the major lessons you have learned during your life from working to achieve athletically and academically, the discipline of training, the importance of your faith and coping with adversity that can help them to succeed, what do you say? |
| HK | My main point is to work hard. First you need to dream something big and to go after a goal that you never thought was attainable. Making the Olympic Games was my dream. I tell kids and adults to pursue their dreams and a passion that they love. If you pursue a dream that you really love than you are never really working. I wouldn’t call what I do work. It is a sport, something I love and enjoy doing. Also work hard and go at it with gusto. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, believe in your cause believe in your dream and that are uplifting. Don’t let anyone bring you down. There are a lot of negative people in this world and in this country. They always want to be negative, are very pessimistic and say that we can’t do things. So surround yourself with loved ones and others who care about you, believe in you and have faith in you, and you will ultimately reach those dreams and goals you set for yourself. |
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| GCR: | Finally, when you were back in central Florida for a visit and some training before the 2004 Athens Olympics, I recall you getting off the front of our running group on a 10-mile trail run at Wekiva State Park and we had to keep yelling which way for you to turn. Finally one time I yelled ahead for you to take a left turn when you were supposed to go straight. You were way down the wrong path when we yelled, ‘Hunter, wrong way!’ We were having typical guy fun with pranks and after you got back with us I commented that ‘if you want to go to the Olympics you’d better stay with us or we would leave you lost out in the woods.’ Do you feel gratitude to us for safely getting you out of the woods and on to your second Olympics? |
| HK | I do feel a sense of gratitude and remember you eventually yelling for me to get back on the right path. It was a great place to run and I enjoy running on those trails as they are like home to me. This is a place where I grew up and it is nostalgic for me. I love coming back to Florida and running on those trails and other trails. That was a good time that I really enjoyed. |
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| | Inside Stuff |
| Hobbies/Interests | Going to the movies taking walks with my wife and boys, road trips,
And reading up on consumer reports, politics
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| Nicknames | As a kid my dad called me ‘Bud,’ because he didn’t want to yell my name when he was calling me. ‘H-Dog’ was my nickname in college |
| Favorite movie | ‘Shawshank Redemption’ because when I saw it in college I was supposed to be going to a ‘Brady Bunch’ movie with some girls I was interested in. I said, ‘Are you kidding me.’ But then I figured, ‘Whatever,’ I’ll go with them. It was so horrendous in the first ten minutes and I couldn’t take it so we walked out and left. Then we walked into a showing of ‘Shawshank Redemption’ that was in another theater and we were surprised at how bad the first movie was and how good it was. That was pretty unique |
| Favorite TV shows | Duck Dynasty and Shark Tank; College basketball and football…go Wake Forest Deacs! |
| Favorite music | Mercy Me and Jeremy Camp |
| Favorite reading | USA Today and Sports Illustrated |
| First car | A Mazda 626 hand-me-down from my older sister. It was first given to her by my dad |
| Current car | I am a Toyota-sponsored athlete so I drive Toyotas. Even before they started sponsoring me I was driving a Toyota Siena minivan. I have always been a Toyota lover. Now I drive a Toyota Highlander hybrid which gets great gas mileage. I am a Toyota driver for life |
| First Job | My first and only job was mowing lawns. It was a local business that I did in my neighborhood. I would get twenty dollars per lawn. It wasn’t a serious job – just a way to make some extra money. I didn’t really have any other jobs growing up and haven’t had any job except being a pro triathlete |
| Family | My parents have been married over forty years. I have an older sister, Lee, who just turned forty and she lives in Panama City, Florida. My wife, Valerie Kemper’s maiden name is Sterk. She was a volleyball player and is six feet two inches tall, so she is about a half inch shorter than me. My boys are Davis Thomas who is six years old, Hudson Frank who is three and Case Henry who is almost two years old |
| Pets | I’m not a pet guy. My wife’s family are professional carpet cleaners so they make their living off of what people’s pets do to their rugs |
| Favorite breakfast | Wheaties |
| Favorite meal | Pizza |
| Favorite beverages | I like water, Gatorade and PowerAde. I enjoy pop now and then and like Mountain Dew or a Coca-Cola, but that is in the off-season |
| First athletic memory | I remember going down to the Justus Aquatic Center on International Drive in Orlando where I saw Janet Evans break the 800 meter World Record. I got her autograph which was quite cool |
| Running heroes | Matt Biondi, Carl Lewis and Rowdy Gaines |
| Greatest athletic moments | Representing the United States in the 2000, 2004,
2008, and 2012 Olympic Games; 2006 Lifetime Fitness ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Triathlon win
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| Worst athletic moments | There are a lot of them. Any loss in competition was a bad athletic moment, but it is hard to think of just one |
| Childhood dreams | To be an Olympian and make it to the Olympic Games. That is what I always wanted to do and I am living out that dream now |
| Favorite Bible verse | Isaiah 40:31 - For those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint
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| Funny memories | During my Olympic race in London last year with about a mile and a half to go on the run my wife told me that my oldest son turned to her and said, ‘Daddy’s not going to win today, is he?’ I thought that was refreshing because he waited until the four and a half mile point to say that and I knew I wasn’t going to win a few miles earlier |
| Embarrassing moment | I’ve forgotten my swimming goggles at the start of a race and had to borrow some from someone else |
| Favorite places to travel | I love seeing this country and this great world. My favorite foreign places are New Zealand and Australia |
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