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303Endurance Podcast


Jul 23, 2021

We have a very special guest, Heather Novickis, who has made a career in Olympic Media and Athlete Management is agent for more than half a dozen triathletes and swimmers that are in Tokyo getting ready to compete.

 

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In Today's Show

  • Feature interview - Heather Novickis
  • Endurance News - Olympic Triathlon Watch Times, Becca Meyers can't compete, Gwen Jorgensen's next move
  • What New in the 303 - "Beers with Bill" Full Cycle Event Last Weekend, Remembering Mike Greer, Mt Evans Hill Climb, Tri Boulder
  • Video of the Week - Morgan Pearson 5 x 1 mile repeats
  • More Bermuda Trivia

 

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Interview with Heather Novickis

 Heather says she loves sport and the Olympic space and that’s why I continue to do it. The best part of my job is seeing an athlete reach their goals and get on the podium, it’s fun to share that experience and reflect back on the years of work it’s taken to get there from both an athletic and endorsement perspective.  She is part of the Human Interest Group team founded by former guest Franko Vatterott and Michael Cardoza.

 

Heather's focus is on the Olympic athlete:

Morgan Pearson – USA Triathlon

Kevin McDowell – USA Triathlon

Grace Norman – USA Paratriathlon

Kyle Coon – USA Paratriathlon

Jess Learmonth – British Triathlon

Abbey Weitzeil – USA Swimming

Katie McLaughlin – USA Swimming

 

Bio and career highlights –  business partners, Michael Cardoza and Franko Vatterott, have been “firsts.”  Executing some of the first deals between TOP Olympic partners and Paralympic athletes – Visa, Coca-Cola, Bridgestone, Toyota.  Being one of the first agents to represent BMX athletes when the sport debuted in the Olympics, and driving some of triathlon’s most lucrative endemic partnerships.  Another first with Shimano/Paratriathlon gold medalist Grace Norman, combo running/triathlon endemic deals. 

Representing original athlete personalities – from Crowie, to Tim Don, Rachel Joyce, Mauricio Mendez, Gwen Jorgensen, Allie Kieffer, Jesper Svensson, Mike Phillips, Jess Learmonth, Morgan Pearson and Kevin McDowell.

About the athletes you represent:  spans the endurance sports arena, all distances of triathlon, swimming, running and parasports.  My focus in on the Olympic & Paralympic space and I also lead efforts for some of our local athletes here in Colorado.  I started out working with swimmers and it’s been fun to get back into the space with Katie McLaughlin and Abbey Weitzeil.

About Human Interest Group “HIG” offers full service athlete representative services - commercial endorsements, equipment partnerships, media services, appearances and speaking opportunities....the traditional services.   But we are also known for our specialty projects that stretch back to the mid 2000's with the first ever high level professional long distance triathlon team, Tri-Dubai, our work building the Retul bike fit brand, the Team Bravo and Coca-Cola project, Tim Don's Man with The Halo story.  We are currently working on some blockchain technology stuff.

 

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Endurance News:

NBC Triathlon Schedule

Men's race - Sunday July 25th at 5:30pm ET

Women's race - Monday July 26th at 5:30pm ET

Relay race - Friday July 30th at 6:30pm ET

USAT Foundation Watch Party. 

 

This deaf-blind Paralympian was told to navigate Tokyo alone. So she quit Team USA.

TIMONIUM, Md. — Five years ago, Becca Meyers was on the floor of her room in the Olympic Village at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, balled up and sobbing, frustrated and terrified. She had stopped eating because she couldn’t find the athletes’ dining area. Even after her parents rescued her and pumped her full of calories and confidence in time for her to win three gold medals and a silver for Team USA, she made a promise to herself:

She would never put herself through such a nightmare again.

On Sunday evening, roughly five weeks before the start of the Tokyo Paralympics, Meyers, a deaf-blind swimmer with a chance to medal in four events, pulled the plug on her Olympic dream — most likely forever. With a click, she sent an email informing U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee officials of her decision to withdraw from Team USA.

 

Gwen Jorgensen is Leaving Bowerman Track Club

After four years at the Nike-sponsored club coached by Jerry Schumacher, Gwen Jorgensen announced today that she’s leaving Bowerman Track Club to be coached by Bobby McGee, who she has worked with in the past.

In a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Jorgensen explained that a mix of career and family goals led to this decision. “I’ve had two marathons that just haven’t proven I can do it,” she said. “I want to just have a marathon, that’s like, OK, I can run this.” She and her husband, Patrick Lemieux, are also looking for a new place to live and are considering having more children.

Jorgensen won the Olympic gold at the Rio Games in 2016 in triathlon, and announced a year later she would shift to running, with a focus on medaling in the marathon. Due to extended recovery after heel surgery to repair Haglund’s deformity in May 2019, she didn’t end up competing in the Olympic marathon trials last year—in early 2020, she decided to focus on the track.   “My goals in the marathon aren’t changing. My timeline is,” she said at the time.

 

What's New in the 303:

REMEMBERING MIKE GREER – A PIONEER, INNOVATOR AND FRIEND

An athlete, race director, official, volunteer, author and speaker. A coach and a mentor. An inspiration and an innovator. A pioneer of the sport and a titan of the community.

Mike Greer, who dedicated his life to triathlon and the multisport community, passed away at 82 on July 21. His service to the sport spanned nearly four decades and encompassed every facet of the industry.

The Funeral service is planned for Monday, July 26 at 1 p.m. CT in Lubbock, Texas at the Sanders Funeral Home.

Mike competed in over 400 triathlons across every distance and continued to excel as an age-group athlete into his 80s, created and served as the race director of Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 at Lubbock, Texas, for the past 30-plus years, held the position of both Interim Executive Director and President of the Board of Directors of USA Triathlon, and created the swim-bike discipline of aquabike, among other accomplishments and contributions.

 Mike was one of the forerunners of the sport who guided triathlon through its formative years to bring it stability, authenticity and solvency, and laid the foundation for the current success of both the sport and the National Governing Body.

“All of us stand on the shoulders of Mike – what he did for our sport and USA Triathlon cannot be overstated,” said Rocky Harris, USA Triathlon CEO. “He taught all of us so much about both triathlon and life, and his legacy will have a lasting impact in every corner of our industry and community.”

 

Ride/Race Mt. Evans–Bob Cook Memorial July 25th, only Chance to Ride with No Cars

For 2021, the Bob Cooke Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb is a partner event in the Gran Fondo National Series. Here’s what that means for riders:

  • Age group results from the Mt. Evans Hill Climb Gran Fondo will count toward the season-long Gran Fondo National Series Championship points competition. Regionally, athletes can also earn points at the Triple Bypass Gran Fondo on August 21 and the Golden Gran Fondo on August 29.

Series Points will be awarded based on Gran Fondo National Series age groups, which are different than the age group categories at the Mt. Evans Hill Climb Gran Fondo. Updated Series Points standings are available on the Gran Fondo National Series website.

Gran Fondo National Series points will not be awarded to riders competing in the USA Cycling race.

Riders can qualify for the 2022 Gran Fondo National Championship event in either the Mt. Evans Hill Climb Gran Fondo or in the Mt. Evans Hill Climb USA Cycling race based on performance, see criteria at Gran Fondo National Championship. 

 

Tri Boulder

  • As one of Colorado’s most popular summer triathlons, Tri Boulder offers many different multisport race distances, all in one eventful day! Join us for a full day of racing at the Rez.
  • Long Course Boulder Beast Triathlon & Aquabike
  • Olympic & Sprint Triathlon, Duathlon & Relays
  • Saturday, July 24th, 2021
  • Boulder Reservoir, 5565 N 51st St Boulder, CO 80301
  • We can't wait to get to racing at the Boulder Reservoir! Saturday is going to be a great day with temperatures reaching 88°F during the race. The water temperature at Boulder Reservoir as of July 13th is 77°
  • Boulder Beast Run Course – The Boulder Beast Triathlon Run Course is 15k/9.3 miles. Runners will complete the 10k course for lap 1, and the 5k course for lap 2.
  • Duathlon – Duathletes will run 5k, bike 12.4 miles, and finish with a 5k run.
  • Boulder Beast Aquabike – Aquabike athletes will swim 1.2 miles, and bike 50 miles.

 

Bill & Rich's Excellent [Endurance] Adventure

  • Bermuda follow up
    • No fast food places except one KFC - McDonalds Bermuda (bermuda4u.com)
    • Population ~62,000
    • Bermuda is one of the 14 British Overseas Territories
    • 54 square kilometers or 20 square miles
    • 21 miles long and 1.5 at the widest point
    • 54% Black, 31% White, 8% Multiracial, 4% Asian, 3% Other

Video of the Week:

Morgan Pearson - 5 x Mile

 

Closing:

Thanks again for listening in this week.  Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment.  We'd really appreciate it!

Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!