Triathlons take a lot of effort to complete, considering that there are three different challenges that participants must overcome: biking, running, and swimming. Griffin Bailey (9) is an expert in all of these areas.

Last summer Bailey participated in the National Youth Elite triathlon circuit. This triathlon consisted of biking, swimming, and running. Bailey had to train all summer for this event. Eventually, Bailey’s father set him up with nationally ranked coaches who tested and accepted him into the National level program. They ranked him 16th nationally.

Bailey started with just a few local races, and then ended in winning the National Championship race in the Ironkids series, making him number one in the country for his age division of high school. In the middle of all of this, Bailey had traveled and raced in many other cities including Dallas, Des Moines, Seattle, Cincinnati, and Columbia. Now, Bailey is invited to attend select camps put on by the USA triathlon and the US Olympic committee.

“It felt really good to be told I was number one because I knew I was at the top for the National Championship,” Bailey said. “I had finally achieved the goals I’d been working toward over all this time.”