Gwen Jorgensen awards youth scholarship

by Erin Greene on 03 Dec, 2014 03:54 • Español

In a display of class and sportsmanship, 2014 World Champion Gwen Jorgensen, together with her newly-wed husband Patrick Lemieux, recently awarded a total of $23,000 in addition to product from ROKA, CeramicSpeed, and Project Clothing to 10 young athletes.

“My husband, Patrick, and I have received such generosity from the triathlon community and we wanted to somehow give back,” the Olympian explained of her inspiration for creating the scholarship fund, which began as the couple’s own private contribution and grew with matching grants from ROKA, the USA Triathlon Foundation and The New York Athletic Club.

Part of what makes the scholarship so unique is that it was awarded not only to her fellow Americans, but was instead opened to athletes, coaches, programmes and event organizers around the world that would use the money to assist junior draft-legal triathletes and paratriathletes in their pursuit of excellence in the sport.

“For triathlon, we travel all around the world. The support I receive isn’t just in the USA, it is international. We wanted to give everyone the chance to receive help,” Jorgensen said.

Surprised by the magnitude of applications they received in just a month and inspired by the stories that flowed from the triathlon community, the couple decided to divide the scholarship up to benefit as many young athletes as possible.

“We had no idea how many applications we were going to receive. It wasn’t until reading the deserving applicants that we felt we needed to reach as many people as possible. We received some really touching applications.

“Some people that applied only asked for a wetsuit/equipment. I would read that and think, ‘Wow, all they need is a wetsuit? We can help with that!’. Other applicants nominated someone else, it was truly touching to read how others only asked for what they needed and we tried to award as many as we could,” Jorgensen said.

True to her champion nature, Jorgensen went out of her way to make the recipients feel that much more special with a little extra added bonus.

“I called all the recipients to let them know about the award and asked them if they had any questions for me. My hope is that I can help them out not only financially, but also be there for them if they have any questions throughout their careers.”

With titles like Olympian and World Champion to her name, it is advice that will surely be heralded by the rising stars.

Jorgensen and her husband are committed to offering the scholarship again in 2015 and 2016. To contribute to the fund, bid on the chance to win an autographed photo from the eight-time World Triathlon Series winner here.

The newlyweds would also like to thank the companies that donated product, as well as ROKA, The New York Athletic Club, and the USA Triathlon Foundation for matching their donation.

2014 Gwen Jorgensen Scholarship recipients:
Tamara Gorman
Austin Hindman
Stephanie Jenks
Sophie Malowiecki
Michael Milic
Graham Pimentel
Ricardo Reyes and Josue Reyes
Addison Smith
Joey West
Elite Multisport
Innovative Endurance
Streamline Events
Z3

Tracker Pixel for Entry