Supplemental oxygen helping OTC triathlete run faster
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- Created on Friday, 22 July 2011 01:27
- Written by Brian Gomez
BY BRIAN GOMEZ, THE GAZETTE
The faster Sarah Haskins-Kortuem runs, the better the chances of the Americans breaking back onto the Olympic podium in triathlon. And her secret weapon is an oxygen mask.
Treadmill workouts utilizing supplemental oxygen have opened the door for the Olympic Training Center resident to improve her speed, and she’s optimistic her diligence will pay dividends next month when she attempts to punch a ticket to the 2012 London Games.
Shooting for her second Olympic berth, Haskins-Kortuem, 30, can become the first U.S. qualifier if she’s the highest-placing American woman and if she finishes in the top nine at a world championship series event Aug. 6 in London. She’ll be joined by OTC resident Jillian Petersen, Laura Bennett of Boulder, Sarah Groff and Gwen Jorgensen, and on the men’s side, OTC residents Matt Chrabot and Hunter Kemper, Manuel Huerta and Jarrod Shoemaker also will compete on the Olympic course, with Aug. 7 their date to qualify.
Haskins-Kortuem has been taking hour-long supplemental oxygen jogs the past month at the OTC, at the advice of her husband, Nate, who doubles as her coach, and OTC sports nutritionist Bob Seebohar. They think supplemental oxygen will allow Haskins-Kortuem, who ended last year ranked No. 14 in the world and was No. 6 in 2009, to carry over her endurance level from Colorado Springs, at 6,035 feet, to London, essentially at sea level.
If their plan comes to fruition, Haskins-Kortuem could be as much as 45 seconds quicker during a 10-kilometer run that follows a 1,500-meter swim and a 40-kilometer bike at the Olympic qualifier. That’s a “significant chunk,” said Haskins-Kortuem, who is strongest in the swim. “That’s kind of the goal I’m aiming for – to take my run to that next level.”
The results Haskins-Kortuem has achieved make her a contender to become the first U.S. woman to win a medal at the Olympics since Susan Williams claimed a bronze in 2004. She took 11th in 2008 in Beijing, and after 2009 surgery to fix a nerve entrapment in her left leg and a left calf tear shut her down last season, she’s rediscovering her rhythm.
A third straight win at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon this month in Minneapolis was the latest victory for Haskins-Kortuem, a runner-up at the 2008 world championships and the 2007 Pan American Games who placed 15th in her only WCS race of the year, in June in Kitzbuhel, Austria. She had a World Cup win in May in Monterrey, Mexico, in addition to triumphing at the elite sprint national championships in March in Clermont, Fla.
Without supplemental oxygen, when Haskins-Kortuem is running at altitude, “it’s really hard to hit that high-end pace,” she said. With supplemental oxygen, she said she’s now “cutting back a little bit on the volume and focusing more on all of my runs being higher quality and a little bit faster pace.” Of course, “Every year, you learn,” she added. “You continue to gain experience and gain knowledge about yourself and become smarter.”
Haskins-Kortuem is smart enough not to put too much emphasis on her run times, noting that “time is just kind of ambiguous because all the courses are so different. It’s not like we’re going on the track and we want to run this time. It’s about sticking with people and placing. … I feel confident in my training, and I’m going to carry that over into the race.”
Photo by The Associated Press
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