Athlete's goal is not just to finish triathlon, but to win

Grueling would be the operative word for a triathlon.

Nevertheless, for a sport in which only 12 athletes completed the first race in 1978, growth continues to spiral upward, counting 50,000 participants in 1993, and in 2006 more than 200,000 competed in this demanding sport.

It begs the question: Why?

Former Jordan high schooler David Gates provides an answer: "The natural high when I finish an event or even a hard workout feels like my whole body is cleansed. I feel like I have accomplished something."

In contrast to most other sports, a triathlon is a feat to accomplish — not necessarily to win. Gates explained, "A lot of people do triathlons just to finish. My goal now is to win."

However, his first triathlon was exactly that — he just wanted to finish. He was introduced to the sport three years ago by a girlfriend. "I never knew a thing about triathlons," he said. "I played baseball and football in high school." Then, after high school, he gravitated to water skiing, golf and mountain biking.

He entered a sprint triathlon (somewhat reduced distances) in St. George. The first event, swimming, was set up on a half-mile course. About halfway through Gates became totally exhausted and turned on his back to rest. He was disoriented and says he was a second away from calling for help. He relates: "I remember laying on my back looking up at the sky and saying, 'I've trained so hard for this.' I just calmed down and doggy paddled the rest of the way." He finished the other events and described his feeling: "I was super, super emotional."

Ironically, last year on May 12 during the same event in St. George, a man died in the water very near him. Everyone continued on in the race. Gates' brother, who was there to watch him, later related the whole gruesome story to him. "It brings you to a sense of the dangers of the sport," he said.

On June 16, Gates competed in the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City where he finished eighth in his age group — 30-35. His time was one hour, 21 minutes and 17 seconds. The biking event is his strongest, and the running part he does quite well, also.

"Swimming is my nemesis," he said. "It is so hard for me. If I could cut three or four minutes off my time, I could be up on the podium."

Each year he has cut two minutes off his overall time. Swimming definitely has room for improvement.

He said, "I only train one or two hours a week in the pool."