Triathlete fulfills promise to wife with victory

Hunter Kemper stood about 50 yards past the finish line, barely winded as he began a conversation with another triathlete.

“Congratulations on the new area rug,” Olympic Training Center resident Jonathan Salerno told Kemper.

Fulfilling a promise to his wife, Kemper won the men’s elite wave of the Prospect Lake Triathlon on Sunday in Memorial Park and collected a $1,000 prize, enough to buy a rug for his Colorado Springs home.

Kemper, 31, a two-time Olympian, overcame a slow start in the 750-meter swim by posting the fastest times in the 13.1-mile bike ride (32 minutes, 14 seconds) and the 5K run (16:31) in the second year of the event.

He finished in 1:00:23, easily beating OTC resident Michael Orton (1:01:49). Boulder’s Cameron Dye took third and Dave Messenheimer of Colorado Springs and Cameron Widoff of Boulder rounded out the top five.

In the women’s elite division, Littleton’s Susan Williams, 38, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, won in 1:09:11.

Fort Carson’s Heidi Grimm (1:11:17) was second, followed by Colorado Springs triathletes Kelly Reed, Suzanne Snyder and Terri Lang. Williams also received a $1,000 prize.

Kemper’s win probably isn’t prestigious enough to include on his impressive list of accomplishments. After all, Kemper appeared on a Wheaties box this month.

A six-time triathlon national champion, Kemper was the top American finisher at the past two Olympics, placing 17th in 2000 and ninth in 2004. He’s the only American man to have been ranked No. 1 in the world by the International Triathlon Union.

Kemper said he treated the triathlon as a “training day” coming off a 17th-place finish June 17 at a World Cup in Des Moines, Iowa. He has been slowed lately by a nagging lower back injury.

“I didn’t feel that comfortable in the water,” said Kemper, who trailed Orton and Dye after the swim. “It’s such a short swim. It’s not really that long. Of the three disciplines, it wasn’t my best.”

By the end of the bike leg, Kemper had built a sizable lead. By the midpoint of the 5K, he had pulled away.

Asked if he stood a chance of catching Kemper, Orton said, “It’s Hunter Kemper, a two-time Olympian. The guy can run. Hunter is the best.”

Kemper anticipates his wife, Valerie, will want an $800 rug. That leaves $100 for a high chair for his 5-month-old son, Davis, and $100 for himself.

“That should cover it,” Kemper said. “If the rug is more than $1,000, we’ve got problems.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com