Competing in triathlons is seen as an individual pursuit, but every athlete will tell you that there is always a team behind them.
There are training groups, different coaches for running, biking and swimming and the support system that cheers them through the inevitable hard moments of every race.
Then there is the relationship between visually-impaired paratriathlon competitors and their guides, one of the most unique partnerships in sports.
McClain Hermes was the first to cross the finish line in the USA Triathlon’s Women’s Sprint Paratriathlon Visual Impairment 1 group on Aug. 9, knocking out the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run in 1 hour 8 minutes and 52 seconds.
Alongside Hermes the whole way was Jenna Haufler, who is an accomplished endurance athlete herself.
Hermes competed in two Paralympics as a swimmer, but transitioned to triathlons in 2022.
“When I graduated college, I was kind of looking for my next steps,” Hermes said. “And another blind athlete that was a swimmer-turned-triathlete kind of said you should try it and see what you think.
“So I did a couple of development – like talent ID – camps and then moved to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (in Colorado) and just went from there. But it’s a great sport. Everybody is in a really fun community and it’s very different from swimming, having three sports all in one, but I really enjoy it.”
Hermes and Haufler have been racing together for the past year. Haufler is a professional triathlete who has won several national titles.
“A few years ago I went to a guiding camp at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center where McClain lives,” Haufler said. “And somebody was like ‘Hey, I think you and McClain would be really good together.
“You both have swim backgrounds. You’ve got good energy.”
Hermes’ victory shows the chemistry is right.
“Jenna’s communicating a lot,” Hermes said. “I can’t see anything when we’re racing (with) blacked-out goggles, blacked-out sunglasses.
“So on the bike, on the run, Jenna’s calling out every turn, every crack. Especially on the bike, she’s trying to call out power. On the run, she’s helping make sure I stay at a good pace and good cadence.”
It’s a dynamic that fulfills Haufler differently than her own competitions.
“The races that I’m doing myself are 4-and-a-half hours on my own,” Haufler said. “And yes, that’s nice, it’s amazing to dig as deep as possible for myself and see what I can get out of myself.
“But to be honest, I think I love guiding even more. I grew up a coach. I love working hand-in-hand with other athletes and athletes that are pushing themselves really motivate me to be better. I love being tethered to McClain.
‘And, yeah, she just pushes me to be better every single day that we race. I love the energy of guiding and I love pushing myself to my limits. Knowing that she is also doing the same on the tandem bike. I can feel her power. I can hear her breathing – breathing right next to me during the run. There’s just something different racing hand-in-hand with another person.”
Wisconsin’s Hailey Danz eyes 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles
Hermes plans to keep the momentum going and qualify in the triathlon for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Wauwatosa native Hailey Danz also hopes to be there after winning gold in the women’s PTS2 event in Paris in 2024. The 35-year-old Danz finished second in the PTS 2, 3, 4 and 5 women’s sprint group in Milwaukee in 1:11:26.
“I just love it,” Danz said. “I have like achieved largely everything I want to in this sport.
“And so for a while, it was, like, why keep going? But I think I just love it. I love the people. I love that I get to travel the world and do this sport that I find so fun. And so I’m gonna do it as long as I possibly can because it is the best gig in the world.”
Competing on home soil in the United States’ first summer Paralympics since 1996 in Atlanta would mean a lot to Danz.
“At that point (in 1996), Paralympics was still pretty early on,” Danz said. “We’ve grown so much.
“But I think that the mainstream public hasn’t fully jumped on the Paralympics bandwagon yet. And I’ve seen it in a lot of other host countries, where once they host it, the people are all in.”
And, of course, Danz enjoyed competing back in her home state. She lives and trains in Colorado.
“It’s so cool,” she said. “I love it.
“It’s actually really fun having these people that I know come and realize, you know, this is actually such a cool city. Milwaukee’s not on a lot of people’s radars. And then they come and are like, wait, I love this city.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A look inside the unique relationship that allows paratriathletes to compete
Reporting by Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
