Nicholas Sterghos
Nicholas Sterghos has been an athlete since he was six years old. “Sports have always been a large part of my life,” he says. “I played football, basketball and soccer, and in high school focused on cross country.”
A May 2009, West Point graduate and a 2007, 2008 and 2009 All American, Nicholas compiled an impressive array of accolades during his cadet years. He was recruited from his home town of Cornelia, Georgia, for the cross country team, but switched to triathlon during his sophomore year — the sport he loves best.
As an amateur/age group sprint, Olympic and half-iron distance triathlete as well as a duathlete, Nicholas earned a series of firsts and seconds in races throughout the country, and in January, 2010, became a professional triathlete, competing almost exclusively on the ITU circuit. In 2011, Nicholas put his racing on hold when he deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon his return to the U.S. the following year, Nicholas suffered a broken clavicle but still managed to place 2nd at the Armed Forces National Championship later that year. In 2013, Nicholas bettered his performance at the Armed Forces National Competition by placing 1st overall.
In 2014 while commanding a unit at Fort Hood, Nicholas had six top 5 finishes and six overall wins including Rev3 Williamsburg, TriRock Austin and the Kerrville Triathlon. He attended the Air Defense Artillery Captain’s Careers Course (CCC) in Fort Sill, Ok at the start of 2015 year and pursued a Masters of Arts in Leadership Studies from University of Texas El Paso. During his studies, he won the Life Time Tri CapTex and placed second at the Armed Forces National Championships, qualifying him for the 6th CSIM World [Military] Games in South Korea. Along with his other results over the years, Nicholas was honored to be selected for the United States Military Endurance Sports Elite Triathlon Team for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 season.
In addition to his training and competition schedule, and his full-time military service as an Air Defense Captain, Nicholas volunteers for Team Red, White & Blue and the Global Healthy Living Foundation.
His head coach is Olympic coach Tim Crowley at TC2 Coaching, and his swim coach and co-manager is Louis Tharp, who coached him at West Point and is the author of Overachiever’s Diary. Louis is also responsible for sponsor and media relations.
HOMETOWN
Cornelia, Georgia
EDUCATION
West Point, 2009
OCCUPATIONS
Company Commander, CPT U.S. Army, Athlete
FAVORITE BOOKS
Mere Christianity, The Bible, Running With The Buffaloes, Pre, Overachiever’s Diary, Whole, The Thrive Diet, Eat to Live
FAVORITE QUOTE
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” — Steve Prefontaine
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Head Coach Tim Crowley, CSCS, NASM-Pes
Tim has been a trainer, coach and elite triathlete for over 20 years. Tim is the Director of Fitness and the Sports Performance at Wayside Racquet and Swim Club in Marlboro, MA.
Founder and owner of TC2 Training and Coaching, Tim currently coaches several Elite and Ironman Athletes, including 2008 Olympian and two time World Champion Jarrod Shoemaker, US National Team members Alicia Kaye and Steve Sexton, as well as ITU athletes from the US, Egypt and Canada.
Tim holds Elite Coaching licenses in cycling and triathlon, as well as USA weightlifting and swimming coaching certifications and is a frequently invited guest speaker at conferences and clinics. Tim loves to share his knowledge and experience with trainers, coaches and athletes alike. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with NSCA, as well as NASM- Performance Enhancement Specialist.
Tim has raced well over 300 triathlons, has raced for Team USA, has won triathlons, duathlons, and winter triathlons. He has coached at World Cups, World Championships and the Olympic Games.
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Co-manager and Swim Coach Louis Tharp
Louis Tharp is the co-founder and executive director of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit working to improve the quality of life for patients battling chronic illnesses.
As the swim coach for the U.S. Military Academy Triathlon Team (West Point, NY), he shared his training methods in his 2007 book, Overachiever’s Diary: How the Army Triathlon Team Became World Contenders by Louis Tharp, published by Total Immersion.
Lou began coaching swimming for the West Point Triathlon team in May, 2006. At the time, swimming was traditionally the weak leg. The first full year of coaching, 2007, the team went from 16th to 5th at 2007 vs. 2006 USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. The men’s team finished 3rd. Women’s team 7th. At the 2008 Collegiate Nationals, the men’s team finished 2nd, the overall team finished 3rd, and the women finished 5th. In addition, individuals medaled at age group nationals and ITU worlds in 2007 and 2008.
In addition to his coaching duties, Lou helped plan, manage and run Spring break training at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla. And was the director of packet pick-up for the annual West Point Sprint Triathlon.
He was responsible for bringing Total Immersion and Sable Water Optics as product sponsors to the team, created a proprietary swim assessment which benchmarked and then measured swimming speed and efficiency.
Lou left full-time coaching responsibilities at West Point in 2009 in order to work one-on-one with Nicholas as manager and consulting swim coach.
An elite swimmer himself, Lou won two gold and two silver medals at the 2006 Gay Games, and two silver and two bronze medals at the 2009 Outgames (Outgames.org) in Copenhagen.
