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Three ASU triathletes compete for their college and country

ASU's triathlon team's top three athletes compete for national teams as well as for the Sun Devils

Triathlon Graphic
Graphic published on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017.

ASU triathlon has three athletes who competed in ITU World Triathlon Grand Finals in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Sept. 15 and 16.

Freshmen Hannah Henry and Kyla Roy competed for Team Canada, and senior Katie Gorczyca competed for Team USA. Henry’s hometown is Victoria, B.C., Canada; Roy is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; and Gorczyca is from Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Henry and Roy competed on the Canada's Junior Elite Team on Sept. 15 and Gorczyca competed the next day in the U23 race. 

Although these athletes are representing different countries, they all compete for ASU at the collegiate level. 

And while there is tough competition in these national races, it is a challenge these Sun Devils are ready to tackle. 

Gorczyca said there are some similarities between competing for her college and national squads, including the feeling of camaraderie. The difference lies in the number of athletes participating. 

“The difference is the fact that there are so many different countries, and in the collegiate realm there’s only a handful of other schools that we’re competing against,” Gorczyca said. 

Gorczyca said she experiences the same amount of support competing for either team and that she enjoys competing in general, whether it is for ASU or Team USA.

For Henry, ASU has more of a family atmosphere than her Canadian national team. 

She enjoys being able to see her teammates often and being able to grow and train with them. With Team Canada, this is not the case. 

"Racing at ASU, it's more like you get to race as a team, which I think is really cool," Henry said. "We all want each other to do well – we can all push each other in races and in training."  

Henry enjoys both teams, but she likes that she is trying something new at ASU with more team-based training where she can forge stronger relationships. She feels a lot closer with her teammates at ASU. 

Henry said for Team Canada, she rarely sees her teammates, and when she does it is already race day, or the days following up to it. 

Roy appreciates competing for ASU because of the team dynamic.

“The college team is actually a team, we get points based off of our whole team’s results, whereas back home it’s just all individuals, so it’s just really fun to be part of a team,” Roy said.

Whether it be competing for the Sun Devils or Team Canada, Roy says her family is there to support her. 

“Worlds is pretty high level, so it’s a lot more intense, but they’re both very fun,” Roy said.  

She said she looks forward to growing with her teammates at ASU and having fun while doing so. 

These three athletes are vital parts of ASU's triathlon team. They were all named to the Central All-Region Team, and they were the top three finishers at the Central Regional Qualifier in Naperville, Ill. on Sept. 4. 

Last year Gorczyca was named USA Triathlon Women's U23 Triathlete of the Year. Henry and Roy are both freshman, but they are very quickly making a name for themselves at ASU. 

They will compete next for ASU in the Western Regional Qualifier on Sept. 30 in Berkeley, California. 


Reach the reporter at cncarte1@asu.edu or follow @CCydeni on Twitter.

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