Devin Chambers is a three-sport iron man preparing for his second year of triathlon competition that begins next month.
Chambers, a 17-year-old, Grade 12 Innisfail Jr/Sr High School student, is going to the Drayton Valley Triathlon the weekend of May 10 for the Junior National Tech competition, his first of many planned during the 2014 season.
“I have been a swimmer for 14 years now,” said Chambers. “Prior to moving to Innisfail, my family lived in Westlock and I swam with the Westlock team. We moved to Innisfail six years ago, and I swam with the Dolphins swim club but I have not been affiliated with any club for two years now.”
He noted his father was a triathlete and three years ago he thought he would give it a try.
“During my Grade 9 year, I won bronze in the 1,500-metre freestyle swim event,” said Chambers. “For triathlon, the swim is shorter, only 750 metres, so my years of swimming have prepared me for the triathlon events.”
Triathlon consists of a 20-kilometre bicycle race, a five-kilometre run, and a 750- metre freestyle swim. Different events can have different distances for each discipline.
“To date,” said Chambers. “I have focused on different aspects of the event. But every time an athlete works harder on one sport over another, your other skills suffer.”
The local high school student trains between one and three hours a day, seven days a week at the pool, and on the roads, biking and running four kilometres. He admits it is difficult at times to motivate himself to train.
“One of my coaches told me to ‘embrace the suck',” added Chambers. “He also taught me that hard work often trumps talent. Pacing yourself as a triathlete is a skill and often young people don't have the patience to wait for the sprint at the end of the race. In triathlon, you start slow and build up your speed.”
His coach Teresa Richer lives in Red Deer and works with him as he trains on his own for a majority of the time. Richer coaches the Red Deer Triathlon Club.
“I work at the Innisfail pool as a lifeguard as well as train for the triathlon,” said Chambers. “It is a tough balancing act but it is my favourite thing to do.”
After the Drayton Valley meet, Chambers plans to go to Penticton, B.C. and Quebec for further triathlon events.
“After graduation, who knows,” added Chambers. “I hear New Zealand is a good place to train.”
