Colorado Champions Road to Gold: Triathlete counts down to Paris

LOUISVILLE, Colorado (KRDO) - The Summer Olympics and Paralympics countdown is on. We are about 6 weeks away from the opening ceremonies. And here in Colorado, we have several athletes who will be wearing Team USA gear in Paris, including a northern Colorado triathlete.

Swim, bike, and run as fast as you can! A triathlon is an endurance multisport race where all of those skills are mastered. At the Olympics, it consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride, and 10-kilometer run. A grueling event for anyone, but something Morgan Pearson is really good at.

"My body feels really good," says Morgan Pearson. "My strength is running."

Pearson trains in Boulder and Louisville, coming to Colorado after growing up in New Jersey. He was on the University of Colorado's running team and graduated in 2016.

"For these sports, the pinnacle is the Olympics and I wanted to go. I finished running in college and I was a good runner but I think I knew my chances would probably be higher in triathlon even though I never really did it," says Pearson.

However, Pearson transitioned to triathlon with ease, making the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. And was on the silver medal-winning mixed relay race team. And now, he's eying more medals in Paris.

"For me Tokyo that was achieving a lifelong dream to go to the Olympics," says Pearson. "I feel a lot more mature as an athlete and person going into these next ones."  

With one Olympics under his belt, Pearson is eager to experience it all again this summer. This time with fewer pandemic restrictions, and more friends and family there to support him.

"To make it is something to be celebrated," says Pearson. "You know, I dream of something bigger, but for my family, this is a really big deal."

Pearson's first triathlon event will be the men's individual on July 30th.