Tri- and duathlete Nicholas Sterghos enjoys the Texas scenery.

It’s not much different from when Arnold Schwarzenegger staring in the movie, Terminator 2, said, “I’ll be back!” in that I AM BACK and ready to start the 2010 year off right.  Much has gone on since I last raced in Clearwater for the 70.3 Ironman World Championships and have spoken to you all.   Many changes have taken place and for the better in terms of reaching my goals and dreams as a triathlete.

The biggest change is that I am now no longer racing in age-group. I am a pro triathlete. In 2010 I’ll be racing as an elite athlete to gain experience in International Triathlon Union, ITU for short, draft legal races.

Also, I am now working with Tim Crowley, USAT Coach of the Year, and Olympic coach to folks like Jerrod Shoemaker, and continuing to work with Louis Tharp, my West Point swim coach.  It was a pleasure to work with Tony DeBoom, West Point Triathlon head coach and DeBoom Sports Mecca founder, and I wish him the best for his coaching, athletes, business, and family.

I no longer reside in El Paso, TX, just having graduated from Officer Basic Course at Ft. Bliss for my initial Air Defense Training. I’m now in Killeen, TX, near Ft. Hood to take on my first duty assignment as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army.  I am not sure exactly what I will be doing, but as long as I am serving my country I don’t care too much.

I should start my job in the next few weeks, but with a little time off before I had to report for duty, I continued my community service volunteer work for the Global Healthy Living Foundation, started by Louis Tharp and his business partner Seth Ginsberg. Specifically, I traveled with Seth and Louis to Washington D.C. to visit with various Senators and Congressmen to discuss events the foundation will be holding for citizens around the country who have chronic illnesses and pain.  As much as I love triathlons, volunteering in this way is always a delight, because not only do I get to help others, but I also can be a part of something that can change the world for the better.

As I was finishing my work in Washington, I got an email from Mr. Jamie McGuire, CEO of Philadelphia Insurance Companies, who told me he had decided to sponsor me now that I am an Elite triathlete.  I had privilege of meeting Mr. McGuire this summer at the Philadelphia Insurance Companies Triathlon, where I actually qualified to become an elite triathlete. I will be racing the PHLY Tri again this summer, one of the best organized and scenic triathlons I have done.  And I’ll be racing there with the incredible energy that comes from the hard work that Mr. Maguire and Philadelphia Insurance Companies do to make triathlon the great sport that it has become.

Thanks, of course, to all my other sponsors – Total Immersion Swimming, sbill swimming, TGI Healthworks, Serotta, and Sable Water Optics, who continue to support me as I take on the new world of Professional and ITU racing.