Karen McKeachie — Age-Group Athlete (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Karen McKeachie has a storied career as a 15-time national champion and a six-time world champion. She was named USA Triathlon’s Overall Triathlete of the Year in 1999, the only 40-plus female age-group athlete to be awarded the honor, and was the USA Triathlon Masters Triathlete of the Year in 2000. McKeachie was the overall winner of the 2011 Trek Women’s Triathlon in Howell, Michigan, and at 58 years, 5 months, 8 days, is believed to be the oldest athlete ever to win her gender outright in a race with 200-plus finishers. A prolific race director of running races, triathlons and marathon swims, McKeachie also co-founded Triathlon Todaymagazine (later Inside Triathlon) and created the first-ever women’s bike saddle.

 

Listen to the Babbittville Radio interview with Karen McKeachie here.

 

 

 

Carlos Moleda — Age-Group Athlete (Bluffton, S.C.)
One of the most familiar names in wheelchair racing, Carlos Moleda is seen as a pioneer for the sport. A Navy SEAL and Purple Heart recipient, Moleda was injured in the line of duty and was paralyzed in 1989. After an introduction to triathlon, Moleda became the first handcycle athlete to break 11 hours at the IRONMAN World Championship and won the division four times. He is a seven-time national champion and also won the Buffalo Springs Triathlon, the only wheelchair qualifier for the IRONMAN World Championship, twice. Moleda has helped to develop rules for paratriathlon events, and he completed Race Across America in 8 days, 9 hours on a four-person handcycle relay team.

 

Listen to the Babbittville Radio interview with Carlos Moleda here.

 

 

Susan Williams — Elite Athlete (Littleton, Colo.)
The bronze medalist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Susan Williams is the only American triathlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games. Before transitioning to an elite athlete in 1997, Williams was a champion age-group triathlete who logged the fastest time at the 1996 ITU World Championships. In her return to age-group racing, she clocked in as the fastest overall woman at the 2011 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance Nationals in Burlington, Vermont. An All-American high school swimmer and captain of the University of Alabama swim team, she continues to participate in the sport as a coach and serves on the USA Triathlon committee to develop qualification criteria for the Olympic Games and the Pan American Games.

 

Listen to the Babbittville Radio interview with Susan Williams here.

 

 

 

Visit usatriathlon.org for more information on the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame.

 

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