Triathlete with eyes on Olympics trains at Sanford Health

Triathlete with eyes on Olympics trains at Sanford Health

Tony Smoragiewicz’s first triathlon was an accident.

He was, as he remembers, about 12 years old, living in his hometown of Rapid City, South Dakota. Smoragiewicz had been swimming for some time (his dad, a high school and college swimmer, had passed his amphibious genes down to his two sons) and was prepared to undertake the first leg of the Rapid City Triathlon.

Smoragiewicz swam 750 meters, or just under a half mile, to complete his third of the sprint triathlon. A 12-mile bike ride and a 3-mile run remained.

But, just before the race, the plan had changed.

“Last minute, the biker pulled out,” Smoragiewicz said. “So my dad was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just do the whole thing?’”

And he did. At just 12 years old, Smoragiewicz completed his first triathlon and found his love. No surprise then that today, 11 years later, he’s eyeing the 2020 Olympics. More of a surprise, perhaps, that he can do so from the Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, just a five-hour stretch of interstate away from the site of that first race.

Top facilities and experts

Getting to today hasn’t been easy.

Sure, his early introduction to swimming and his affinity for physical fitness challenges in elementary school set him apart. But it was relentless training that got Smoragiewicz a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Bejing in 2011, a track-and-field scholarship to the University of Michigan and a 15th-place finish in the 5K at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 2016 (just to name a few).

To get to this level, Smoragiewicz has trained and raced across the U.S and around the globe. Here in the States, he’s trained mostly at top-level universities, he said, where he’s sure to find the facilities and experts he needs to improve. That’s why he was impressed to find the same facilities, the same experts, available through Sanford Health.

“I went to the University of Michigan, and they had world-class facilities there,” Smoragiewicz said. “But unless you’re at a really top-level university, I think it’s hard to find facilities like that, so it’s great having a company like this that has these options open to the public, too.”

Global competitor

The swimmer, cyclist, and runner has been in Arizona, staying warm, for most of 2018. He said that many triathletes choose warmer destinations to lessen the risk of injuries during training. Still, an indoor facility like the Fieldhouse can keep athletes like Smoragiewicz improving even during the cold months.

“If you think of most triathletes, they travel around the world and around the country to places that are warm,” Smoragiewicz said. “But it’s nice for even one day in the winter … to come home and come to a place like this with awesome facilities where I can keep chasing those small gains.”

As for the global travel, Smoragiewicz has been overseas for a short block of racing already in 2018. Far from where it all began, he’s completed triathlons in The United Arab Emirates, Australia and New Zealand so far this year. He was in China this past weekend, then Kazakhstan, will be home for a stint and finally heads to Europe for a large block of racing.

But the ultimate travel destination, the final stop for Smoragiewicz, lies farther away than even he could imagine swimming, biking and running: Tokyo, Japan, 5,675 miles from the South Dakota hills.

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