A Rostraver native finished sixth Friday night in the triathlon competition in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Eric McElvenny, 38, of Bethel Park, representing the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team, finished in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 58 seconds. That was just 6 minutes, 2 seconds off the winner from France in a competition consisting of swimming in open water for almost one-half mile, a 12-mile bicycle ride and a 3.1-mile run.
McElvenny finished strong in his first paralympic triathlon competition, according to NBC analyst Patricia Collins, who was a member of the 2016 U.S. Paralympic Triathlon team.
He was competing in a field of 10 men in his classification, based on the degree of activity of limitation they face as a result of their impairment, according to the International Paralympic Committee.
Prior to the competition, Collins described McElvenny as “super strong” and an athlete who was able to take advantage of the yearlong delay in the competition because of the covid pandemic in 2020.
McElvenny went into training the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Collins said. Then, the men’s and women’s teams went to Hawaii to train together, swimming in the open ocean.
McElvenny, a 2001 Belle Vernon Area High School graduate, played football and baseball in high school and rugby at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He lost his right leg below his knee when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2011 while on patrol as a Marine officer in Afghanistan, during his third tour of duty.
McElvenny challenged himself to begin training for the Ironman Triathlon, much longer than the paralympics. He also embarked on a new journey as a motivational speaker as he began training for what is considered one of the most grueling events in the sports world.
In the Ironman competition, participants swim 2.4-miles, bicycle 112 miles and then run a marathon — 26.2 miles. His average finishing time is 12 hours and 49 minutes.
A representative of McElvenny’s team of supporters could not immediately be reached for comment Friday night.
