USA Triathlon Announces the 2025 Coaches of the Year and Race Director of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — USA Triathlon announced today the 2025 USA Triathlon Coaches of the Year and Race Director of the Year. 

The Race Director of the Year Award, presented by TicketSocket is awarded annually to a USA Triathlon race director who has given their time and service to the sport in more ways than one, including exceptional events and community engagement. 

The winner of the Race Director of the Year Award, Kathleen Walker, will be honored at the USA Triathlon Foundation Celebration of Sport presented by TicketSocket on Aug. 6 in Milwaukee, held in conjunction with 2026 USA Triathlon Nationals. 

The awards for Coaches of the Year focus on the most influential multisport coaches in categories such as athlete development, community impact, and education. 

USA Triathlon’s Race Director of the Year, Kathleen Walker is the founder and race director of New England Endurance Events — a Massachusetts-based multisport race management company that produces seven annual events across New England.

Walker’s path to race directing began in 2014, when a local camp serving seriously ill children needed help raising funds. She stepped in to organize the GutCheck Adventure Triathlon, a benefit sprint event that remains on the calendar to this day.

Other race directors noticed, and over the past decade, have asked her to take over five triathlons. She manages the oldest continuously running triathlon on the East Coast (the Hyannis Triathlon) as well as one of the most difficult one-day triathlons in the sport (Sea to Summit Triathlon). Last year, New England Endurance Events added the first SwimRun race in southern New England to its annual schedule (SwimRun Cape Cod).

A USA Triathlon Level II Certified Race Director, Walker is also a Red Cross certified open-water lifeguard. She is the president of a regional bicycling advocacy organization and a member of a development and expansion committee for the YMCA. She is also the founder of a women’s open-water swimming organization with over 100 members.

Last year, five of New England Endurance Events’ seven races reached full capacity ahead of race day, and five saw fields split evenly between men and women. Walker’s contagious enthusiasm for the sport — along with a hand-built team focused on safety, newcomer comfort, and maximizing every athlete’s experience — has been a major reason for this success.

Dan Lorang, widely regarded as one of the most accomplished triathlon and cycling coaches in the world, has more than 20 years of experience coaching Olympic medalists, world champions, and top professionals in both cycling and triathlon. He coaches two-time U.S. Olympic medalist and three-time IRONMAN 70.3 world champion Taylor Knibb, and IRONMAN world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay of Great Britain. 

Throughout his career, Lorang has played a significant role in the success of some of the world’s top endurance athletes. His coaching has contributed to more than 12 world championship titles across cycling, triathlon, and other endurance disciplines, as well as multiple Olympic medals. Prior to joining Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, Lorang served as Head Coach of the German National Triathlon Team and as a sports scientist with Cervélo TestTeam. 

John Hansen is head coach of the UC Davis Collegiate Club triathlon team, one of the strongest programs in the country with five top-10 finishes in the Mixed Relay at Collegiate Club National Championships over the past eight seasons. A USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach, Hansen also holds coaching certifications with USA Swimming, USA Track and Field, and USA Cycling. 

Hansen is Chair of the Collegiate Club Coaches Association and is an active member of the USA Triathlon Collegiate Club Committee. In his role as Chair, he is leading the creation of a national ranking system for collegiate club triathletes. 

Noah Lam is president of the Long Island, New York-based youth triathlon team, Lightning Warriors, which is focused on making the sport of triathlon available to all young athletes. Lam is a USA Triathlon Level I Certified Coach, Youth and Junior Elite Level II Coach, and Road Runners Club of America Running Coach.

Lam believes every athlete is unique and has capabilities that are waiting to shine. He wants each athlete to excel beyond their current abilities and by providing a foundation that creates strong, successful leaders and helps them excel at all levels of life. Athletes Lam has coached through Lightning Warriors have gone on to become All-Americans, world champions, and earned college triathlon scholarships.

Kris Swarthout has been a competitive presence in triathlon since 2001, first as an athlete and now as a coach. He currently coaches with the USA TRI Development Team, teaching para triathlon to the next wave of elite paratriathletes, and also assists with the USA TRI National Team. 

Swarthout has coached athletes ranging from professional competitors to first-time amateurs, and he strives to help his athletes find the ultimate balance of family and sport. He holds a USA Triathlon Level III Certification, as well as Coaching Certifications in Paratriathlon, and Youth and Junior, along with a USATF Level 1 Coach certification and a USAT Level 1 Race Director credential. 

Coach Maria Simone is the founder and head coach of No Limits Endurance Coaching. An enthusiastic ambassador for endurance sport, Simone has found that it teaches her to fear less and live more, and she thrives on the competition and camaraderie the community provides. She takes a holistic approach to coaching, considering each athlete's physical ability, history, and goals alongside mental fitness, nutrition, and life-work-training balance.

A USA Triathlon Level III Certified Coach, Simone coaches athletes of every level, from beginners learning to swim, bike, and run to elite competitors, always emphasizing that belief comes before achievement and process before outcome. She holds her athletes accountable for the hard work required for big dreams, whether they're chasing a first finish or a personal best. 

Mark Saroni is an accomplished endurance athlete and the founder and head coach of Paragon Training. A USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach, Saroni has been involved in triathlon since 2003 and coaching since 2005. 

A former professional triathlete, Saroni's unique coaching style and knowledge is built on his educational background, as well as years of experience racing in the endurance world. 

Saroni coaches Junior draft-legal development athletes and has coached athletes who qualified for World Championships at U23 Elite, IRONMAN, IRONMAN 70.3, Xterra, and World Triathlon Age Group Worlds.

Alison Freeman is a USA Triathlon Level III Certified Coach and co-founder of NYX Endurance, where she specializes in coaching beginner and intermediate long-course triathletes — the middle- and back-of-the-pack athletes who are chasing goals that are every bit as meaningful as anything happening at the front of the race. Over the past 10-plus years, she has coached over 100 athletes across more than 400 finish lines — from first-ever sprints to full-distance IRONMAN finishes. 

A contributor for Triathlete Magazine, Freeman has written more than 50 articles featured on Triathlete.com, covering training, skill development, and the athlete mindset. Her first book, “Unlocking Triathlon” is set to be released this fall. 

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).