Cole Bunn figured last summer he would make a pretty decent triathlete.
He
was a state qualifier in swimming. He was a good runner, too. Mountain
biking looked fun. So, Bunn signed up for his first off-road triathlon
in July 2012 at age 16.
By late October, three months after his
debut, Bunn was racing against the world’s best off-road triathletes at
the XTERRA World Championship in Hawaii.
“Honestly, I don’t believe it looking back on it now,” said Bunn, now a 17-year-old senior at Bettendorf High School.
This
week, Bunn returns to the site of his breakout performance a year ago
for the 2013 XTERRA USA Championship in Utah. Last September at
nationals— in just his third triathlon and six weeks after his debut—
Bunn finished second in his age group and fifth overall among amateurs
in the 1.5k swim, 29k mountain bike and 10k trail run at Snowbasin
Resort just north of Salt Lake City.
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