Meredith Kessler
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 28, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 128 lb (58 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Team | Purple Patch Fitness | ||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Matt Dixon | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Meredith Brooke Kessler (born June 28, 1978) is an American professional triathlete from Columbus, Ohio who races in long distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She took third place at the 2011 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships and has won numerous Ironman and half-Ironman distance races as both an amateur and a professional. She was named USA Triathlon's 2014 Non-Drafting Athlete of the Year.[1]
Career
Kessler was born Meredith Keeran to parents Keith and Debbie and raised in Columbus, OH.[2] Growing up she was a four-sport athlete playing field hockey, swimming, track, lacrosse[2][3] and attending Columbus Academy.[4] In 1996, after high school, she attended Syracuse University on a Division I athletic scholarship where she participated in field hockey and track. She graduated in 2000 with a degree in nutrition and hospitality management taking a job as a manager at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in Half Moon Bay, California.[5] It was also at this time she purchased a triathlon bike with her graduation money and jumped into Ironman racing.[6] She later took a job in investment banking with RBC Capital Markets working 60 hours per week while still training 15 to 18 hours per week.[5][6]
As an amateur, Kessler averaged four Ironman races a year on a loosely put together training schedule. In order to seek more structure with her training she sought out Matt Dixon as her coach in 2007.[2][7] In 2009 she made the switch to become a professional triathlete, quitting her job at RBC. In her first race as a pro she placed 7th at Ironman Arizona. She would have three Ironman podium finishes in her first year as a pro, including a win at Ironman Canada 2010.[8] The following year in 2011, Kessler dealt with hyponatremia and hypernatremia nutritional issues at the first two big races of her race season at Ironman St. George and Ironman Coeur d’Alene.[2][7] However, she rebounded to take first place at Rev3 Portland, then took a third place podium spot at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Henderson, NV,[9] before rounding out the year with her fastest Ironman time ever, almost breaking the nine hour barrier at Ironman Arizona.
As a professional, Kessler has since recorded over a dozen first place finishes in long distance triathlon, including four consecutive wins at Ironman New Zealand and three consecutive at Ironman 70.3 St. George from 2012 to 2015.[10]
Kessler is a coach with Purple Patch Fitness and teaches at VeloSF, a downtown San Francisco power-based cycling studio.
Notable results
Kessler's race results include:[10]
| Results list | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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DNF = did not finish |
Personal
Kessler married husband Aaron in 2008. They were high school sweethearts and he was taught by her mother in first grade.[11]
References
- ↑ "USA Triathlon Names 2014 Elite Triathletes Of The Year". XTri.com. March 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Carlson, Timothy (July 7, 2011). "Meredith Kessler survives and thrives". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ "About". meredithkessler.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ Williams, Blake (September 3, 2012). "Columbus Academy graduate has become one of the best women triathletes in the world". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Clarke, Paul (November 18, 2013). "Triathlons are the new golf for investment bankers. Meet one financier who went pro". Yahoo!. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Buckley, Anna (October 8, 2013). "Kona Athlete Spotlight: Meredith Kessler". LAVA Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dixon, Matt (November 21, 2012). "The Journey Of Meredith Kessler". Competitor Group, Inc. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ "08/29/2010 Results: Canada". World Triathlon Corp. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ Sherwood, Merryn (November 6, 2011). "Rachel Joyce claims another ITU Long Distance Triathlon world title for Great Britain". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Race Results and Schedule". meredithkessler.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ↑ Krabel, Herbert (June 28, 2014). "A close call for Meredith Kessler". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.