'You're going to be inspired': USA Triathlon National Championship returns to Milwaukee's lakefront this weekend 🏊♀️🚴♀️🏃♀️
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Some of the most multi-talented athletes in the country are gathered at Milwaukee's lakefront now through Sunday.
It's the USA Triathlon Sprint and Olympic Distance National Championship.
Around 3,600 triathletes representing all 50 states are hoping to qualify for the world championships, as they take on water and land.
This is the USA Triathlon's seventh time in Milwaukee.
"It's the energy of the event every year, it's incredible in Milwaukee, we're a great host city," said local competitor, Peter Morris. "I know every triathlete I talk to from around the country is really happy to come back to Milwaukee."
According to the organizers, Milwaukee's lakefront bays and trails are the perfect landscape.
"It's a great place to swim, which is awesome," said Stephen Meyers, senior communications manager for USA Triathlon. "We have the lakeshore right here, so, the bike course is a lot of fun, the run course is a lot of fun, and then we're just right here downtown."
It has become a familiar spot for regular racers, like Anne Rogers from San Diego, who started triathlons in 2010.
"We felt like kids, because it's like, we're going to swim! Ooh, let's go bike! Now we're going to run!" Rogers explained. "You get to do a little of everything."
This will be her fourth championship in Milwaukee.
"I know the venue now, the people are great, and it's fun," she said.
Friday, Aug. 8, kicked off with an open water swim competition.
"The water is definitely on the warm end this year, it's 77 degrees," Morris said. "Which everybody in Milwaukee knows is very unusual for Lake Michigan."
Saturday is the Olympic distance triathlon - A 1,500-meter swim, 40K bike, and 10K run.
"We have a range of potentially beginner athletes, they've only done a couple triathlons, to people who are super competitive, they're going to compete at the world level," Meyers said.
Sunday speeds up with sprint national championships - a 750-meter swim, 20K bike, and 5K run.
"The sprint distance is really hard, because it's so short, that you just go all out the whole time," Rogers said.
The paratriathlon national championship wraps up the weekend.
"We have several athletes that competed at last year's Paris 2024 Paralympics," Meyers explained. "Parasport is amazing, you're going to be inspired by watching these athletes cross the finish line."
The events are spectator friendly. So, lakefront visitors have the opportunity to watch these athletes in action.