If the Olympics were this summer, women from St. Louis would comprise two-thirds of the U.S. triathlon squad.
St. Louisans Sarah Haskins and Jillian Petersen are the top-rated Americans in the International Triathlon Union's world rankings. Haskins, 29, a graduate of Parkway South, is fourth; Petersen, 27, who attended Francis Howell and the University of Missouri, is 23rd.
Don't get the idea that St. Louis is a hotbed of triathlon. The majority of the athletes were born in warmer climes, and most of the elite train in Colorado Springs, as Petersen and Haskins do.
Instead, part of their success stems from the fact that for 15 years, Petersen has been chasing and emulating Haskins. The former hopes to follow the latter for at least two more years, when Petersen hopes to make her Olympic debut in London and Haskins hopes to step onto the podium.
"I hope I made her path a little easier," Haskins said.
From Petersen's perspective, though, she's been a rabbit chasing a carrot since seventh grade, when she started swimming for the team at the St. Peters Rec Plex. Petersen said she watched in awe as a ninth grader named Sarah Haskins "just blew everybody away" in the mile swim.
Petersen later took up cross country at Francis Howell, "and my goal was to be all-state as a freshman," she said, an honor given to the top 25 at the state meet. She just missed, finishing 27th.
"My dad said, 'Did you see who won?' It was that swimmer, Sarah Haskins," Petersen said. "So I knew she was good at two sports, and I wanted to be, too."
Petersen accomplished the goal as a senior, winning the Class 4 state cross country title in 2000, then attended Missouri, where she was an eight-time All-Big 12 selection. Her career mirrored Haskins' at Tulsa, where she earned all-conference honors in cross country and track.
After graduation in 2005, Petersen wanted to continue competing but needed a new challenge. She tried marathons, finishing the Chicago marathon in 3 hours, 3 minutes, but was looking for some variety.
"So Dad said, 'Hey, how about triathlon? Sarah Haskins has taken that up.' I thought to myself, 'That name again.'"
Petersen sought help from John Lynch, the area's triathlon guru who had launched Haskins' career. Lynch said he gave Petersen the same bike he gave Haskins.
"I am pretty sure it is older than Jill," Lynch said. He took her for a ride around the Chesterfield Valley and was shocked when she wanted to walk the bike across Chesterfield Airport Road, rather than ride, and when she used the brakes on every downhill.
"My initial thought was, 'Boy, do we have a long way to go if she wants to be a pro,'" Lynch said. She overcame her fears of traffic and speed, developed an unorthodox style and according to Lynch, "has one of the best (if not the best) bike split in most of her races."
She also discovered that she loved the variety of triathlon, "the challenge of balancing the three."
In her first full season as an amateur, Petersen won the 20-24 age group national title in 2006, then tried unsuccessfully to get into the national residency program of USA Triathlon in Colorado Springs. Haskins had waited more than 18 months to get into the program as well, and remembering the agonizing wait, offered to let Petersen stay with her and her husband, Nate Kortuem, in 2008.
Haskins downplayed the gesture, saying, "We were going to be gone part of that time in Beijing, so it was nice to know someone was there keeping an eye on things."
Petersen, though, believes that her six months with Nate and Sarah was no ordinary house-sitting gig. "If it hadn't been for her," Petersen said, "I don't know if I would have kept trying."
She earned a spot at the Olympic training center late in 2008, after winning the Pan Am championship but missed part of 2009 in defense of the title, suffering a broken collarbone that required a plate and seven stitches to repair. Though she returned to cycling just two days after surgery, Petersen swam for the first time just 12 days before competing in an ITU meet in London.
"Not a smart idea," she said. "but worlds were four weeks after London, and I really wanted to compete there."
At the world championships on the Gold Coast of Australia, she said, "I had a good swim. I wish I could bottle up how happy I was." She finished 29th.
Haskins finished fourth in the event and was named USA Triathlete of the year after finishing in the top 10 in each of her six ITU events. Not bad for someone who underwent surgery to repair nerve damage in her leg in March.
The biggest change for Haskins, though, was "hiring" Kortuem as her coach. Kortuem previously competed in longer distance triathlons.
"It's really fun," Haskins said. "He sees me every day and knows how I'm feeling. He can read me better than any other coach I've worked with. It's more simple. I'm not afraid to yell at him. So I'll let out my frustrations in workouts. I think I'm more relaxed that way."
Each had reason to be frustrated after racing last month at the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines, the richest event on the pro circuit. Haskins finished 16th, Petersen 30th. They visited family in St. Louis the following week and will meet again in London later this month and at the world championship final in Budapest in September.
"I would really like to be more consistent. I know those fields will be tough, and I'd love to be in the top 15," Petersen said. She noted that despite missing part of last season because of the collarbone injury, "I'm better than I was before. If I can do that much again in a year's time, you never know how much you can accomplish."
The ultimate dream would be the 2012 Olympics, just as it is for Haskins, who made her Olympic debut in Beijing.
"Four years is a long time to compete, and the seasons are starting to go faster," said Haskins, who turned pro in 2004. "The Olympics have so much hype and media. If I make it back, I'll have the experience and won't be like a deer in the headlights. It can be more like another race."
And in the best of worlds, Petersen again will be nipping at her heels.
