Triathlete competes to raise money for shark attack victim

Hundreds of athletes are competing in the Rocky Mountain State Games, but one triathlete has some extra motivation.

Michael Ortiz is competing in the triathlon to raise money for Hunter Treschl, the Colorado Springs teen who lost his arm in a shark attack earlier this month.Treschl was attacked by a shark off the North Carolina coast while on vacation.

“I heard about the shark attack and then we got an email from the school saying Hunter was one of the victims,” said Ortiz, who has a daughter that goes to school withTreschl. “My heart just went out to him.”

Ortiz metTreschl when he gave a guest lecture inTreschl’ssophomore chemistry class. When he heard about the attack, Ortiz wanted to help out.

“I just knew I had to do something for him,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz competed in the triathlon wearing a shirt that said “Tri for Hunter.” The shirt also had the domain name for Hunter’s GoFundMe page. Ortiz said he’s happy to help Hunter’s family reach their goal of $50,000 for medical expenses.

“I’mjust deeply in gratitude to him for doing this,” saidTreschl, who was cheering for Ortiz while he competed in the event. “It’s a lot of work to train for a triathlon and get this whole thing organized and he’s really stepped up.”

Ortiz saidTreschl’s story inspires him to never give up.

“His optimism and positivity, it just takes your breath away,” Ortiz said. “Thinking about him makes me want to persevere and push forward.”