Bound for Glory

Unlike other competitors poised at the starting line of Hawaii’s Olympic triathlon trials in April, Barb Lindquist felt peace instead of pressure. “It wasn’t that I had trained better than anyone else,” recalls Lindquist, 35, of Alta, Wyo. (pop. 400). She says it was her strong faith.

“About three weeks earlier I was stretching in my living room, and I had an overwhelming sense of peace from God.”

During the race, Lindquist never let up. She swam 1,500 meters off Waikiki Beach, cycled 24.8 miles and ran 6.2 miles past cheering spectators lining Kalakaua Avenue. With a 12-second lead and a time of 2:07:21, she streaked across the finish line, then turned her face heavenward, raised up her arms and pointed her index fingers.

“I wanted to give God the glory and show he’s number one in my life,” she recalls.

The victory earned Lindquist the first of three slots on the U.S. women’s Olympic triathlon team and a chance to compete in the summer games in Athens, Greece, this month, along with teammates Sheila Taormina of Livonia, Mich., and Susan Williams of Littleton, Colo.

Ranked No. 1 among the world’s female triathletes, Lindquist is favored to win Olympic gold Aug. 25, the date of the women’s triathlon. She has held the International Triathlon Union’s No. 1 world ranking since 2003, longer than anyone in the history of the sport. Last year, she won 10 of 15 races.

On the international triathlon circuit, competitors gun for Barb—a 5-foot-6-inch, 130-pound self-guided missile of muscle aimed for one thing—the finish line.

“People think I’m super aggressive in races, but I’m not that way in real life. My priorities are God, husband and family, then my job.”

The richest prize

Lindquist gives her all during a race and is always satisfied with the outcome. The outcome of last year’s most prestigious race made her “The Quarter-Million-Dollar Woman.” She won the Lifetime Fitness Challenge in Minneapolis, pocketing $250,000, the richest prize in triathlon history.

The equalizer race pitted men against women, with women receiving a nine-minute lead. Before the race, Lindquist recalls having a hard time “getting pumped up.” “Money doesn’t really motivate me,” she says.

What does motivate her is her desire to help others. She helps support missionaries and the local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Competing in triathlons has been a natural evolution for Lindquist, who was raised in Casper, Wyo. (pop. 49,644), earned a swimming scholarship to Stanford University and swam on the U.S. National Swim Team from 1987 to 1991. After graduating in 1991 with a biology degree, she needed a break from her competition and moved to Jackson, Wyo.

“My parents suggested I take a year off and relax in Jackson, where they had a house,” Lindquist recalls. “I skied all day and waited tables in the evenings.”

One year turned into two, and she was hired to coach the high school swim team. She began cycling with bike racers who met on Tuesdays for a group ride. In 1993, friends persuaded her to start competing in regional triathlons, many of which she won. During that time, she had an epiphany, which has been the foundation of her career.

“My identity isn’t wrapped up in being a triathlete, so I don’t feel pressure when I race,” Lindquist says.

In 1995, through the cycling group, she met Loren Lindquist, a bike racer and a manager for a log home construction company, and asked him to be on her triathlon support crew. Four weeks later he proposed, and six months later they were married.

With her husband’s encouragement, Lindquist launched her professional triathlon career in 1996 on their honeymoon, competing in two races in the Caribbean. He’s now her manager and coach.

Since 1997, the couple has lived in Australia during Wyoming’s sub-zero winters so Lindquist can race year-round.

Strength training

A key element of Lindquist’s success is strength training. “In the past seven years, Barb has never been sidelined due to strains, tears and other chronic symptoms that many athletes experience,” her husband says.

She uses an exercise machine, which works on a cable system and uses a person’s own body weight on a sled at various resistance levels. In addition, each week, she generally swims five hours, cycles 12 hours and runs eight hours. Besides sweaty workouts, her training regimen includes naps and snacks so her body can recover.

Anticipating the Olympics, Lindquist is excited to represent the United States and to have her close friend Taormina as a teammate. The duo energize and help each other during competition.

For Lindquist, the Olympics could be the finale of a triumphant triathlon career. “I’ll race through 2005,” Lindquist says, “then we’d like to start our family. Once I have kids, I’ll close this chapter of my life and start a new one. I’ll probably still do some local races.”

One thing is certain—she and her husband will stay in Wyoming’s Teton Valley with its spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife. “This is home,” she says. “I love it here.”

She treasures her hometown anonymity. “We had a neighborhood party, and no one knew I was a triathlete,” Lindquist recalls. “I can go shopping and no one knows who I am. To my friends, I’m ‘just Barb’ and have a normal life.”

The Lindquists recently moved into a three-bedroom home in Alta, where they’ll continue offering personalized coaching and training programs to athletes from around the world.

As for the Olympics, Lindquist will be satisfied with her performance whatever the outcome, but if her past achievements are any indication, she’ll be standing on the winners’ podium with a medal dangling around her neck.

Dianna Troyer is a freelance writer in Pocatello, Idaho.

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