August 21, 2006

Team Toledo Triathlon Club

Board of Directors 

To Whom It May Concern: 

I just returned from the New York City Triathlon that served as the National Championships for the Physically Challenged (PC's).  It was the largest gathering of PC's ever with 42 individuals attending from the United States and abroad.  The conditions were very hot, humid, windy and hilly.  The competition was tough as it mirrored the podium finishers in my category from ITU Worlds in October.  I am proud to say that I was victorious once again taking over 1^st place 2.5 miles into the run and cruising to a victory with a 4:40 margin.  I now carry the dubious distinction of dual titles of being the ITU World Champion and USA National Champion. 

The ITU World Championships are in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 2, 2006. The stakes are high as now I am the one others are gunning for due to my victory at ITU Worlds in Hawaii last year.  This worlds holds additional promise as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will be making their decision on whether or not to add the triathlon event as a Paralympic sport beginning in Beijing in 2008.  Many may not know but the Paralympics are a scaled down version of the primary Olympics and occur at the same venues during the same year as the Olympics.  Their decision is being based on the diversity of athletes from both a physical handicap and international representation.  It is critical that as many athletes as possible attend this race due to the enormity of the decision that the IPC is contemplating.  When I took up the sport a short four years ago, my wildest dreams would not have but me where I am today.  Adding to this the possibility of competing in a Paralympics in 2008 is beyond belief. 

 I am humbled by Team Toledo willing to provide a sponsorship as I try to successfully defend my world title and promote Team Toledo.  This will be no small feat as the usual suspects will be there and this will be the third time we have competed head-to-head.  I look forward to providing an update to the team upon my return.     

 Sincerely,

  David W. McGranahan