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Hunter takes home the Bronze!!USA Triathlon Junior Olympic FestivalAugust 8, 2009 Colorado Springs, Colorado Photos courtesy of the Honeycutt family |
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Hunter Honeycutt, a sophomore at Tift County High School, competed at the USA Triathlon Junior Olympic Festival held August 8, 2009 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He competed in the men’s Youth Elite race (ages 13-15) with the top 50 young men in the country. The race is similar to that of the Olympic format and many of the athletes are vying for a spot on the Olympic team in a few years.
In the weeks leading up to the race, Hunter was most concerned about his swim time. Most of the other athletes come from very advanced year-round swim programs and have been swimming at an elite level for many years. Swimming has only been a year-round sport in Hunter’s area for the last year. Hunter lived with his coach in Birmingham, Alabama, for several weeks over the summer to improve his swim and to work on his bike and run. He hoped to finish in the top 15 on the swim then catch up on the bike and the run.
As the race began, around 50 young men started in a single line spread from one end of the beach to the other. The horn blew and a mass swim start ensued for a distance of 375 meters. Hunter had a great start and was in the lead for the first 50 meters or so. As the pace settled in, he found a groove and was able to come out of the water in fifth place! The leaders were only a few seconds in front of him and still within his sight.
He went into the bike transition area in fifth and left 30 seconds later in third; he had already passed two other athletes. With a perfect bike mount, he was able to catch the next athlete within a few feet of the bike start. On a bike course that is about 10 km, it did not take long for Hunter to overtake the lead cyclist, Josh Kanute (Illinois), and work together with him to distance themselves from the rest of the field. Two other cyclists were able to bridge up to the top two, making it a four-man race on the bike. The four averaged around 24 miles per hour for 10 km on hairpin turns and a very technical course. As they rounded the straightaway for the next transitions, Hunter was in first place. After the athletes dismounted their bikes and transitioned into running shoes. Hunter came out on the 2.5 km run in first place, but he had a serious problem – his lungs felt like they were on fire and it was difficult to breathe. The altitude in Colorado Springs is intense for anyone who is visiting, and it can be devastating for an athlete. Hunter felt the altitude sickness start to set in, but pushed through the pain as he ran for the finish line. The run was around a large lake, and the excitement in the crowd grew with every step the runners took. |
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About a third of the way into the run, the second place athlete, Josh Kanute, was able to catch Hunter, and they ran side-by-side with the third-place athlete, Tony Smoragiewicz (South Dakota), closing fast. At the halfway point, Smorkawitz caught up and the three athletes made the turn for home shoulder-to-shoulder. With only a few meters to go, the crowd went crazy. The announcers were screaming that it was “any man’s race” and that this was the best race they had ever seen at Nationals. Kanute surged in the last few meters, Smoragiewicz tried to go with him, and Honeycutt had nothing left to go with. The finish saw Kanute with the gold, Smoragiewicz with the silver and Honeycutt with the bronze − all within a few seconds of each other. The rest of the field was not even in sight and the crowd had just witnessed a preview of the USA Olympic trials in a few years, according to the announcers. All three young men fell out at the end of the race, their bodies shutting down from the altitude and effort. Just like that, the race was over. Years of preparation and sacrifice, and it was over. The medal stand was awesome, with all three athletes shaking hands and posing for pictures, realizing that they are just beginning their race for the future. The three will be seeing each other again for many years to come. After it was all over, Hunter said he left everything on the course and he had no regrets. He learned a lot about his competitors and possible changes to his race tactics. He also ran a perfect race and had the time of his life. (Hunter finished the triathlon with a total time of 32:51.6, only 28.5 seconds after Kanute, and 25.3 seconds after Smoragiewicz. -Editor) | |
January 2012
Robert Preston Jr. 
Micki K Photography 
