World Triathlon

Arizona-based Carol Whipple advocate for Triathlon and Multisport, serves in an advisory role as part of the USAT Multisport Committee and was recently awarded the Sportswomen of Colorado award. Carol Whipple is set to line up in the 2023 World Cross Duathlon Championships Ibiza, to defend the world title (W 65-69 category). Whipple chaired the USAT Duathlon Committee for 20 years.

Whipple has always been a competitive runner and enjoyed recreational cycling. In 1996, her best friend entered in a local triathlon and suggested she compete in the “Duathlon” event where all she had to do was a run and a bike ride, this is where her multisport story began.

Whipple went on to win that first duathlon event she entered and was hooked from the get-go! Whipple has always loved running and cycling so finding a sport that combined the two disciplines fueled her competitive nature and it was a challenge to see how far she could go in the sport. Whipple found USA Triathlon and their sanctioned events and began to travel to qualifiers. After seeking the advice of experienced duathletes and coaches, who all said it would take three years to progress to compete at the top tier age-group level, for USA. They were right!

Whipple was a project manager for the National Park Service however is now retired and has the flexibility to train more freely and is thriving in a sport that combines two segments of running and biking. She’s done that for 25 years and recently won an international title. She’s finished in the top 10 at world championships. In 2022, she won a bronze medal in the sprint duathlon and a gold medal in cross duathlon.

Whipple’s first World Duathlon Championships was in 1999. Since then, she has been on Team USA and competed in 20+ World Championships from sprint to long-distance and in approximately fifteen countries.

World Triathlon caught up with Team USA’s Carol Whipple ahead of the 2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Ibiza which are from April 19th to May 7th.

FROM THEN
“I’ve been athletic since early childhood, the typical climb trees, or anything similar, ride my bike and run races at elementary school field days. I joined middle school track team and ran distances from 400 meters and longer. Cross Country was my favourite sport.”

“I was a young adult when a friend invited me to go to a triathlon but I entered the Duathlon instead. I won this first race AND was hooked.”

Around 1996 following my first Duathlon - I read and researched everything about the sport. USA Triathlon offered an opportunity to race at the age-group World Championships, so it became my goal to qualify for Team USA. My first Worlds was 1999 in Huntersville NC but my first true international experience was Calais France the following year.

BEING PART OF TEAM USA
“What was that first experience like, being part of Team USA and wearing the country suit? From the initial joy of qualifying & receiving the official Team USA letter, to wearing the USA stars and stripes in the parade with so many other countries represented, really puts into perspective how special this opportunity is. Wearing the uniform in the race, you feel tremendous pride that you are not only racing for yourself but for your teammates and your country back home. I grew up watching the Summer Olympics and thought how awesome that would be.”

“I’ve either qualified and/or raced at 20+ World Duathlon Championships-from sprint to long-distance Powerman races. In total, I’ve raced in a couple of hundred Multisport events over the years. Racing in approximately 15 foreign countries brings a new level of excitement every year. The venues are so cool - historic streets lined with ancient stone facades, mountainous climbs, sea coast cities - it’s a great experience that World Triathlon offers.”

THE TRIATHLON AND MULTISPORT COMMUNITY
“Having been on Team USA now for as long as I have, it’s been said it’s a “community” - these are your teammates that you see once a year and you share travel experiences & memories with. We’ve been through 9/11 2001 while competing in Rimini Italy, teammates who’ve had unforgettable performances, it’s especially fun to have longtime friends from other countries and to get to know them not just as athletes but as people with varied careers-very inspiring. And sometimes, how difficult their everyday life let alone training is due country customs and conditions.”

YOUR SUPPORT CREW
“Husband (Dave) is very supportive with the time I need to train and has his own “community” of Multisport spouses that travel to races, cheer and help manage schedules. My new inspiration is my 3-yr old granddaughter coming to races to watch and cheer but she’s ready to swim, bike and run already! I have a great seasonal training plan by my coach, Rachel Sears with Hypercat Racing.”

TO NOW
“Being retired lets me be more flexible on when & where I train seasonally. I’m not fond of cold weather so I’m based in Arizona the first part of the year. There are early season races too which helps get me into shape. I enjoy training on the desert trails which are rocky with short climbs. Summers are spent in my hometown of Seattle, where I can run and ride long-time favourite routes with beautiful water and mountain views. All this variety keeps me inspired and challenged.”

WHAT ABOUT IBIZA
“I’ve been excited about this location since it was first announced. Spain is one of my favourite countries to compete in, good weather, beautiful settings, excellent hospitality and wonderful food have made for some of the best experiences.”

“The goal is always to do as well as you can, given the amount of training time and effort that has gone into this. You want to represent your country and age group well. Coming into Ibiza as a defending world champion (Cross Du 65-69) creates another layer of challenge and inspiration. I’m enthusiastic that Cross Duathlon is growing with more participants and at our age it can serve as an inspiration to others outside the sport. Really glad that World Triathlon is supporting this new event.”

WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED
“After doing this for so many years, I appreciate the opportunity to race for Team USA and never take the opportunity for granted. Racing Multisport keeps me active and in good health. Balancing training loads, diet and health becomes more and more important if you want to continue. Being out on the trails running or riding gives me the same joy I felt as a kid.”

FAVOURITE MEMORY IN SPORT
“It’s difficult to come up with just one, from my younger days, it would be convincing the high school coach to create a girls cross country team then winning the state championship & him over that first season. In cycling, it would be when our 4-woman cycling team won the Race Across America (RAAM) in 8 days or in multisport, crossing the finish line in last year’s Cross Duathlon Championships with my Team USA teammates cheering.”

CLOSING REMARK
“I truly appreciate the opportunity to engage with you and World Triathlon! Multisport has been a great part of my life - realising as a great-grandmaster that I can still compete - sometimes not only as the oldest woman in local races but as the overall winner & having the younger athletes ask how I can still do all this? I feel I have the responsibility to inspire those outside the sport that it’s never too late to set goals and believe you can achieve them.”

World Triathlon wishes all athletes, competing in the 2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championships (29 April – 7 May), all the best! For the elite races, TriathlonLive.tv will have full coverage of the duathlon (including mixed relay), aquathlon and long distance triathlon events, and extended highlights of the cross duathlon and cross triathlon and with over 3,000 athletes from 61 countries competing for world titles, all age group races will have a finish line camera watchable on the platform.