About the Program
To increase the depth and quality of potential U.S. Olympic triathletes, in 2009 USAT turned its attention to the collegiate ranks with the launch of the Collegiate Recruitment Program. Of the U.S. Olympians all but one have come from a Division I swimming or running background. Until this program was started, all of those Olympians found the sport of triathlon. No one was actively recruiting, encouraging, or mentoring them to make the transition post-grad to triathlon.
The program's goal is to expose collegiate swimmers and runners, who have both a background in the other sport and are finished with their eligibility, to the possibility of making a career out of triathlon. Through mentoring them on the steps and skills needed to becoming an elite triathlete, the program’s goal is to identify talent from the NCAA ranks and fast track their growth in triathlon.
The program is lead by Collegiate Recruitment Coordinator, Barb Lindquist, who successfully made the transition from Stanford swimmer to a 10 year elite triathlete and 2004 Olympian.
The Collegiate Recruitment Program works by creating relationships with collegiate coaches who refer their athletes, assessing triathlon potential of these referrals, and developing that talent through mentorship and elite triathlon coaching relationships.
Any collegiate coach or athlete who would like to receive more details about the program should contact Barb Lindquist at barb@usatriathlon.org.
Follow USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program on Facebook.
Collegiate Recruit Blog
-
Reliving the Team Experience
-
Passion and Gratitude — Getting Back to the Basics
June 28, 2012 by Natalie Kirchhoff -
The Glass is Half Full
June 20, 2012 by Justin Roeder -
Escaping from ITU for the Weekend
June 14, 2012 by Jason Pedersen
US Anti-Doping Agency
The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) oversees and coordinates the Olympic anti-doping program in the United States. Athletes who compete, are members or license holders of an NGB, or who fall under USADA's testing jurisdiction as defined in the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement testing, are subject to urine and/or blood testing both in and out of competition.
USADA's Olympic Education department is responsible for educating athletes, including juniors and collegiate-level, about the rules of the anti-doping program. There are numerous resources on the USADA website (http://www.usada.org/athletes) that can aid in the understanding of sample collection, results management and Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE). As you move through your competitive career, it's important to be aware of the rules and how they apply to you at your current competitive state. Additionally, any medications can be checked against the WADA Prohibited List by using the Global DRO resource (www.globaldro.com).
For a short webinar explaining USADA, the testing process, TUEs and the Prohibited List go to http://www.usada.org/webinars and click on the "Non-National-Level Athlete Webinar." This resource is specifically for those athletes who are not currently in USADA's Registered Testing Pool but who are competing at an elite level.
Partnership Agreement
College coaches who refer qualified athletes to us register their college programs for incentives by signing our Partnership Agreement.
Collegiate Coach Partnership Agreement for track/cross country coaches
Collegiate Coach Partnership Agreement for swim coaches
Handout for Collegiate Athletes (.pdf)
Once you've read the agreement, submit the Partnership Acceptance Form (.pdf)
Athlete Bios
Learn more about USA Triathlon's elite athletes in the athlete bios section.
If you have graduated from college, meet our A standard in the run (for females 17’/35’ for a 5k/10k and for males 14:45/31’), and are interested in triathlon, please email Barb Lindquist at barb@usatriathlon.org so she can assess your fit for the Collegiate Recruitment Program. If you are a runner still in High School, please see the Performance Pyramid below and click through to the Junior Elite (Under 19) page.
Thank you for taking time to learn more about this fun and challenging sport of triathlon!
Could You Be Our Next Olympic Triathlete?
Runners, can you answer yes to the following?
- I recently graduated from college with 5k/10k PR’s faster than 17’/35’ for women and 14:45/31’ for men.
- I have a swimming background, either in age group or high school, or have been told while cross training in the pool that I look smooth and efficient.
- I do not want to pursue running post-collegiately, but I still have that competitive fire within!
Swimmers, can you answer yes to the following?
- I am an NCAA Division I, II, III Championship qualifier or Division I Conference consolation finalist.
- I have a running background from high school, excel at dryland run training, or have been told I'm a fluid, competent runner with future potential.
- I have little desire or insufficient ability to compete in professional swimming post-graduation.
- I have the potential to have a "runner's build" once my swim emphasis changes to a run emphasis.
If you said, “Yes”
If you answered yes, you have met our A Standard in your primary sport. You also share something in common with most of our Olympic triathletes. Of our 15 Olympians, seven ran for a Division I school and six swam for a Division I school. Only 25 percent did a triathlon before they graduated from college. If you fit the above criteria and are interested in finding out more about triathlon, the first step would be to contact the Collegiate Recruitment Coordinator, Barb Lindquist at barb@usatriathlon.org. Lindquist can help with technique and training in the preparation for testing to meet our B Standard in the other sport (i.e. swim for runners, and run for swimmers).
‘B’ Standard:
We assess potential for swimmers with a 3k Run Test on the track, and for runners with a Benchmark Swim Test of a 200 all out, 1 minute rest, 800 all out. Here are the general ranges for both tests:
|
Benchmark Swim Test |
Benchmark Swim Test |
Benchmark Swim Test |
3k |
5k |
10k |
|
|
Men |
200: 2:15 |
200: 2:30 |
200: 2:36 |
10:12 |
17:49 |
37:00 |
|
Women |
200: 2:30 |
200: 2:47 |
200: 2:51 |
11:02 |
19:15 |
40:00 |
These B Standards are set assuming that the athlete is not fully trained for the test, meaning the athlete has not been swimming or running 5 days a week for a year to hit these times. We suggest doing the test twice because most athletes will improve significantly just by learning how to pace. Achievement of both the A and B standards does not automatically qualify the athlete as a Bona Fide Collegiate Recruit. These standards are for guidelines. We believe there are other factors that go into assessing Olympic triathlete potential beyond time standards.
A Bona Fide Recruit
Once the A and B Standard are met, an athlete becomes a Bona Fide recruit. The benefits to this include: being connected with a local, experienced triathlon coach who has agreed to work pro bono for a year; mentorship for you and the coach with an Olympian; opportunity to take part in clinics at key U.S. races; invitation to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for a week long summer camp; assistance with equipment through USAT sponsors; guidance on race selection to fast track earning an elite card as a primary step towards earning a spot on USAT’s first funded program, Project 2016.
What is the Olympic Format?
Triathlon comes in a variety of distances and formats. We are recruiting for the draft-legal (DL) Olympic distance - 1500 meter swim, 40k bike, 10k run. For the women, this race takes about 2 hours, and for the men about 1:45. In the Olympics, the bike portion of the race is draft-legal, meaning you can ride right behind someone on the bike to take advantage of their draft. Most age group, non-elite, races are non-drafting, where it is illegal to ride within a certain distance of a fellow competitor. Because of the draft-legal nature of the Olympic Triathlon, the swim is important to ‘get you in the game,’ while in most races the run is what wins it. The closing 10k times in Beijing for the Olympic Gold medalists were a 33:16 for the women and a 30:45 for the men.
USA Triathlon Performance Pyramid
Click on your area of interest below to learn more.
