Lincoln-Sudbury graduate Jarrod Shoemaker will be chasing gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the ITU BG Beijing World Cup last September, the 25-year-old Sudbury native qualified to run with the world’s best in the triathalon.
A swimmer and runner at L-S, Shoemaker continued running through his four years at Dartmouth College. By the time he had graduated, he had won the U23 Nationals, among other smaller triathalons.
“I graduated Dartmouth College in 2004 and turned pro in triathalon right after that. That’s basically all I do, race triathalons,” Shoemaker said. Shoemaker trains around 24 hours a week, composed of swimming 20,000 yards, running 35-45 miles and biking between 7 and 11 hours.
The amount of time spent traveling in itself is huge. “The hardest thing is none of the races are local, so I’m traveling to Australia, Japan, Europe, South America just to race the other people in the world,” he said.
With the time commitment of being a professional athlete, it is difficult to manage a full-time job. Shoemaker relies on his various sponsorships for income. He also is a swimming coach at L-S, and lifeguard. He is taking graduate classes at Boston College in order to be a high school history teacher after his athletic career.
Recently, Shoemaker placed second in the Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico. The win put him at the number 12 ranking in the world.
Almost as impressive, Shoemaker was rewarded with his own Wheaties cereal box cover, which are only being sold in the Midwest and North.
“It’s hard, but it’s fun,” he said. “I love getting on the starting line and pushing myself harder than I thought possible, and seeing how I match up against the other competitors.”

Quotations courtesy of Sudbury Town Crier