Hunter Kemper didn’t detect anything suspicious on Sunday. All he could see floating in the Brazilian water was swimmers. The smell of port-a-potty did not hang in the tropical breeze. ADVERTISING Hunter Kemper didn’t detect anything suspicious on Sunday. All
Hunter Kemper didn’t detect anything suspicious on Sunday. All he could see floating in the Brazilian water was swimmers. The smell of port-a-potty did not hang in the tropical breeze.
So he said a little prayer and took the plunge.
Triathloning is a tough job, you know, but somebody’s got to do it.
“What was I supposed to do?” Kemper laughed.
He was at the Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event. It was a long way from Clermont, where Kemper competed in his first triathlon in 1986.
He was 10. Twenty-nine years and a gazillion miles of swimming, biking and running later, Kemper needed to finish in the top eight Sunday to qualify for his fifth U.S. Olympic team.
The bad news is he finished 41st. The good news is there will be more chances to qualify.
Actually, the good news is Kemper didn’t get out of the water and drop dead from hepatitis. An Associated Press investigation published last week revealed the water around Rio is dirtier than Hulk Hogan’s mouth.
Raw sewage flows freely into Brazil’s Olympic competition sites. Tests measured up to 1.7 million times the level of viruses that’s considered hazardous on California beaches.
The gilded members of the International Olympic Committee won’t have to swim in it, but they did at least order more tests. Previously, the water was checked for bacteria, not viruses.
I don’t know the difference, but I do know the triathlon is hard enough without having to dodge human feces. To clean up a timeless phrase — how much more excrement can a guy take?
“I’m sure I’ve swam in worse,” Kemper said.
Over the phone Monday, he sounded like the wizened road-pool-and-bike warrior he is. In the inaugural Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Sydney Games, the big worry was sharks.
Kemper survived that. He endured a pelvic stress fracture to finish seventh in Beijing.
Merely making it to London in 2012 was miraculous after a bike crash the year before. His shattered left elbow needed a metal plate and 15 screws. He got a staph infection after surgery.
“There’s been some drama,” Kemper said.
Along the way, he was top U.S. finisher at every Olympics. He was ranked No. 1 in the world. He became the first triathlete on the cover of a Wheaties box.
Such are the rewards when you swim 5,000 meters and bike another 40 miles six days a week. Kemper runs up to 10 miles seven days a week, and we’re not talking pleasant jogs around his Colorado Springs neighborhood.
The grind has gone on for almost two decades. It’s complicated now by four young children.
Kemper admits his body doesn’t respond like it used to, but his spirit is as willing as ever.
“It needs a little more of a pep talk sometimes,” he said. “But the fire’s still burning. It’s burning even stronger now.”
He wants to become a five-time Olympian. Not many people have done that, and it’s usually in something like dressage or pistol shooting. To do it in an aerobic event would be astounding.
The Olympic triathlon consists of a .93-mile swim, a 24.8-mile bike ride and a 10,000-meter run. Kemper’s times are as good as they were 15 years ago, but the competition has improved.
Then there’s the birth certificate.
“I am 39 years old,” Kemper said. “What I’m trying to do here is difficult.”
At least the chances he’ll make it back to Rio are much better than the odds the IOC will provide a sewage-free competition in 2016.
That’s all right by Kemper. After all the you-know-what he’s been through, the thought of a little more isn’t about to stop him now.
