It is often thought by the general public that triathlons are for the hard core athlete, the super-fit jock, the type A personality, or a combination of all three. Prepare to get your stereotypes blown to shreds with the TriDivas in Long Beach leading the pack of a new school of triathletes. The Divas, founded by Kelly Clancy, are a coaching and information organization for women of all ability levels, ages, shapes and sizes who would like to compete in 10k’s, triathlons, half marathons and triathlons. These female athletes come from all walks of life, and draw inspiration from family, heartbreaking injuries, or a desire for new beginnings.
As I stepped out into the pool area of the first practice I attended, the word that came to mind was “camaraderie.” Defined, it means “a spirit of friendly good-fellowship,” and it’s exactly what I saw as I watched these dedicated women practice.
Tell me a little bit more about you’re history in triathlons and the TriDivas, Kelly.
It used to be just a sport for elite athletes or these super-fit people. Now the sport has really become a lifestyle for a lot of people and that’s the greatest change you can hope for. It’s hard to stick to diets, it’s hard to show up at the gym three times a week. When you have a goal at the end of something it makes it so much easier to work out, and it creates this amazing lifestyle change. We have a couple of women whose kids have become inspired seeing Mom doing it and we have these five-year-olds out here doing what Mom does. It just catches on and promotes health for the whole family.
The friendships that develop are a great story too. I never thought of that when I started TriDivas, I just did it to help women train. But there have been some lifelong friendships that have developed through this group.
I remember back in the early 90’s when I got into the sport in Napa Valley, I would try to convince any other woman to come train with me. Slowly I was able to start get several women to start training, but it was so intimidating at that time.
Women in the sport made up like 7% and are now over 50%. It’s programs like this that are empowering for women and are bringing them into the sport. Maybe they’ve had a couple kids and are trying to get back in shape, and it’s very inspiring to see them achieve goals crossing the finishing line after their training. – Kelly Clancy
After talking with Kelly I went over to some of the women training for upcoming races and was blown away by their stories. Instead of trying to condense them down, I wanted to present them without any editing or abbreviation as there was too much great content to leave any out.
Yvonne Flores
“I started with Kelly about 4 or 5 years ago, and I’ve had two kids in between. Now I’m back and it’s been such an inspiring road for me. It’s taught me a lot about me and my abilities, and what I can show my children growing up. I’ve gotten more out of this than I ever thought I would.”
Cathy Lee-saxon
“This is my first time joining TriDivas. I ran one sprint triathlon in 2005 and then last year broke my leg. So I’ve been out of competition for some time with that injury. So now I’m back to refresh myself and I thought why not join TriDivas it should be fun. There are a couple other deaf gals like myself and I can socialize with women.”
Sonya Wilson
“Cathy’s a good friend. This is my first triathlon, I ran the L.A marathon previously but I thought this would be a good experience to improve myself and I feel really wonderful being with other women and I really want to encourage other deaf women to participate and enjoy doing this kind of exercise.”
Elizabeth Green
“My deaf friend Terry dragged me here last year because she wanted to do this and needed someone to interpret the coaching. So I had a tremendous amount of resistance to it, and sat out the first part of the training last year until she finally convinced me. I completed my first triathlon last year! I’m not an “athlete” in any way shape or form but I did a triathlon!
Carmenita Sturdivant
“Last year around January I was saying “what am I going to do with the rest of my life.” My mother had just passed and I didn’t have any immediate family. So my friends says why don’t you do a triathlon, you did one 16 years ago, and I said “I’m too old to do a triathlon!” I got on the internet and wrote all the coaches in the area and said “Is there anyone out there who’s willing to teach a 75 pound overweight 52 year old couch potato that hasn’t worked out in years!” Only Kelly responded, and she said “you can do a triathlon if you take your time and work your way into it.” I finished my first triathlon last year at Disneyland.
Susan Deogracias
“When I turned 50 years old I thought. “Okay what’s the second half like.” I’ve been with Kelly several years and I’ve done a super sprint, and then a sprint triathlon. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do the sprint but Kelly looked at me with that look that said “I trained you, you’re going to do fine, and sure enough I flew through it.” Kelly has a way of inspiring me to keep pushing my boundaries.”
