When Dan Gampon sprinted across the finish line at Saturday’s IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii triathlon, nothing could sum up in words the incredible accomplishment felt as he flexed his muscles, pumped his fist in the air, and yelled out in triumph.
Gampon’s signature finish line display certainly put an exclamation mark to what has been a year of visualizing his ideal swim-bike-run race. Add to that a fierce dedication to long training hours swimming at the Kailua Pier, biking on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and running on Alii Drive – all to accomplish his goals that culminated on this one day.
Everyone who witnessed Gampon’s goose-bump performance on Saturday would agree – it was nothing short of spectacular.
The 20-year old Kailua-Kona resident crushed the men’s 18-24 age group with a convincing win of 5 hours 3 minutes and 43 seconds – nearly 20 minutes ahead of the second place runner. His time bested his previous personal record by 28 minutes, and he was also the only Big Islander to win his age group across all male and female divisions.
Winning his age group also meant a well-deserved spot on the starting line of the prestigious IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships – a half-ironman distance triathlon in Zell Am See-Kaprun, Austria on August 30.
“I felt like I crossed Kona again,” Gampon said of his excitement crossing the finish line. “I felt accomplished and it went way better than I thought. It was straight adrenaline.”
Gampon said his late father has been his driving force and whom he thinks about at every finish line. He was in the seventh grade when his father passed away in 2007 – a critical time when he needed him the most. To cope, he began paddling and playing other sports, which eventually led toward his passion of swim-bike-run. At age 18, Gampon became one of the youngest to toe the line in Kona’s IRONMAN World Championship race in 2013.
Now it appears that young Gampon has found a new father figure in his life. Fellow triathlete and training partner, Michael DeCarli, seems to have become the perfect role model to fill the emptiness that Gampon has longed for.
“I call him Uncle Mike out of respect,” Gampon said. “We are close. It was weird for me since I didn’t have this in my life for a long time. He is a great leader, my biggest role model. He’s taught me so many things and more than I can imagine. He’s been like a father to me.”
DeCarli’s stellar race on Saturday led him to finish with a new personal best of 4:48:43. He also happens to be the father of Gampon’s longtime girlfriend, Mercedes. Gampon said the two fell in love during his training leading up to his Kona Ironman debut.
“She’s my best friend, she’s there to keep me sane and someone I can talk to when I’m stressed,” Gampon said. “It’s hard being so far apart now but I believe that our long distance relationship has made our love stronger.”
Mercedes, an undergraduate student at Colorado State University, just completed her sophomore year while training and racing on the CSU Triathlon Team. Her 6:19:56 finish on Saturday placed her third in the women’s 18-24 age group and left Gampon to nervously wonder if it would be enough for a qualifying slot to the 70.3 World Championships in Austria.
Saturday’s race offered 30 slots divided among the first and sometimes second overall finishers in each age group division. If the first place finisher declines his or her slot, a roll down method proceeds to subsequent finishers until that slot is taken.
“After I decided to take my slot we waited around for the roll down,” Gampon said. “I was so happy when they called Cedes’ name. Then we waited around for Mike’s turn. But it was a little nerve racking because he placed seventh in his age group so we weren’t sure if he would get that chance.”
Call it luck as Michael’s name was announced and now all three can look forward to competing as a family at the 70.3 World Championships.
“It feels really scary and honestly I initially didn’t want to go because I wasn’t sure if Cedes would get in along with the huge financial expense of traveling so far,” Gampon said. “But now I’m looking forward to having a great experience and hopefully performing well.”
A total of five Big Islanders received 70.3 World Championship slots at Saturday’s race, the other two being James Budde and Mary Castelanelli.
With Gampon and the DeCarlis in, expect them to to fill their summer jam-packed with more swim, bike, and runs until the end of August.
“Training will definitely be more serious and more intense,” Gampon said. “But it’s just the beginning. There’s always more room for improvement.”
