NSR 2000 Alum, Sara McLarty, Is World-Class Tri-Athlete

Shot at London Olympics Within Reach for Former Gator

The breakthrough comes for athletes at different times.  For years, some toil in obscurity and struggle to maintain their motivation while results just don’t show.  Former NSR swimming prospect, Sara McLarty, wasn’t getting down about her progress as a world-class triathlete in 2010. But still, as she said, “It’s a whole lot easier to train in the off-season if you’ve actually accomplished something big the year before.”

The breakthrough the 28-year-old McLarty was hoping for finally came last season. The DeLand High School grad and formerly nationally ranked swimmer (she competed at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials) won her first professional triathlon Oct. 31 at the Super Sprint Grand Prix event in Oceanside, Calif. 

She also captured the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series championship, a culmination of points scored in a series of races throughout the year.  That title came with a $20,000 bonus check and a Toyota Prius.

“Makes it a lot easier to concentrate on training when someone gives you a big check,” McLarty laughed in an interview this week (to the Daytona Beach News-Journal). “It was really something I had been working for really hard, and when (the success) happened, it made me even more motivated for this season.”

With McLarty and the other major pro triathletes gearing up for a chance at the 2012 Olympics, she got to compete in a race right in her backyard.  The first event of the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series was in Clermont (FL), where McLarty trains year-round.  It’s a sprint-distance race, consisting of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run, shorter distances than Olympic-style triathlons. (Olympic triathlons are 1.5 kilometer swims, 40-kilometers on the bike, and 10K runs)

But it’s a great chance for McLarty to continue her momentum toward what she hopes is a shot at the London Games next year.  “We’ve got a really good field, and getting to actually stay home and compete is a big deal,” McLarty said.

What caused McLarty’s breakthrough in 2010?  She and her coach, Alec Rukosev, point to her dramatic improvement on the bike.  With her swimming background and talent, McLarty has always been strong at the start of races, taking sizable leads.  But being able to sustain her lead on the bike has been a major challenge.

“She’s very powerful in her legs, and she’s learned how to really use that to her advantage when she’s on the bike,” Rukosev said. “She can still get a lot better, but where she is now is so far ahead of where she was last year at this time.”

McLarty’s improvements has meant a lot of serious attention from sponsors:  This year she’s being backed by an entire town.  The Villages (FL) agreed to help fund her career as long as she wears a patch with the town logo on it.

“It’s very cool. They’ve been really supportive so far,” McLarty said. “Most sponsors are just product sponsors, so this is different and a lot of fun.”

While McLarty works on improving her running and trying to get better at draft-style racing (which is the Olympic format, and something McLarty isn’t quite as good at, as compared to the sprints), she’s continuing to preach the gospel of swimming. Again this year at most race sites across the country, she’s setting up swim clinics for kids. It’s part of the selflessness that makes USA Triathlon National Team director Katie Baker call McLarty “the most true team player we have.”

And the dream of 2012 continues to push her.  “I’ve made huge progress on the bike, so of course it’s something I think about,” McLarty said. “I need to get better at the draft-style races, but I’m working at it, and hopefully Clermont will be the start to another great year.”

Note:  Sara was a 2000 NSR prospect.  She was named National Senior High School Girls Swimming Athlete of the Year in 2000 by NHSCA.  After graduating from Deland (FL) High, Sara swam for the University of Florida.  Her NSR scout was Dave Johnson, Northeast Florida.  This article was first produced in the Daytona Beach News-Journal and written by Michael Lewis, staff writer.  NSR edited the article.