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Local siblings competing for more national triathlon titles

Hayley Diemar is competing in the Youth Elite division of this weekend's USA Triathlon Youth and Junior National Triathlon Championships in Ohio. The Diemar family is sending all three of their children to the national championshps.
Special to the Daily |

EAGLE — Sibling rivalries seem pointless in the Diemar home.

Sure, Jack, Coco or Hayley Diemar could pipe up at dinner with, “I’m a national champion!”

But they all are, multiple times.



The Diemar trio will be in West Chester, Ohio, this weekend, to compete against the best youth and junior triathletes from around the country in the USA Triathlon Youth and Junior National Triathlon Championships.

Meet the kids

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On the other hand, the country’s best youth triathletes are probably around the Diemar dinner table.

Jack, 10, is the returning three-time national champion, shooting for four straight in Ohio this weekend, his last year in the youth division. He’ll complete a 100-meter open water swim, a 5K-bike ride and a 1K run. His race will be a time-trial start and since he is the returning champ, he will be the first swimmer in the water.

He’s a pretty well-rounded kid. He not only competes in triathlon, but also plays top-tier travel hockey and swims competitively year-round.

Coco, 12, is also a defending national champion, winning last year’s title by 0.28 seconds. She’s defending her title in the youth senior division with hopes to repeat.

Between her and a repeat national title are a 200-meter swim, a 10K bike ride and a 2K-run.

Last year was Coco’s first national title. She’s also a National Criterium Champion at USA Cycling National Championships, and a 1600 meter track champion at the AAU National Championships.

Hayley, 14, will compete in the Youth Elite, ages 13 to 15, draft legal national championship race, which runs Saturday.

Saturday’s Youth Elite race is the first opportunity for young elite triathletes to compete in the style used at the Olympic games: a 375-meter swim, 10K bike ride and 2.5K run.

How they qualified

To make it to Saturday’s Youth Elite nationals, athletes had to compete in one of four qualifiers around the country, and finish in the top 18.

Hayley finished 11th in her June qualifier. She had a tough day in last year’s nationals, crashing twice and finishing 36th.

On Sunday, Hayley will be back in action for the Mixed Relay Team race with members of her Multisport Madness Triathlon Team. Two females and two males race as a relay team, and they each complete a mini-triathlon.

Hayley finished third in the 2014 Triathlon National Championships. Both Hayley and Coco have multiple top finishes at the USA Cycling Nationals over the last few years. Both girls are members of the TWENTY16 Women’s Cycling team, and are mentored by the top women cyclists in the world, including Olympian Kristin Armstrong and former World Cycling Champion Mari Holden.

The Diemars are former Eagle residents who recently moved backed after living in Jupiter, Florida and Naperville, Illinois. Jack will be a fifth-grader at Brush Creek Elementary School. Coco and Hayley will be attending the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, and be in the Nordic program. Hayley will also run for Battle Mountain High School’s cross-country team in the fall.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


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