Tuesday, June 29, 2004


A nice article about Kiersten in the Corpus Christi Caller Times:

On the fast track to success
Sports world takes notice of triathlete-biker Inserni, 9




By John Allen Caller-Times Sports EditorJune 29, 2004

For Corpus Christi's Kiersten Inserni, being the best has never been a problem.
At age 7, she was already a national champion, winning the 2002 IronKids triathlon in a course-record time.

After repeating the feat in 2003, Kiersten turned her attention to mountain bike racing this past spring. In her first competition, she won the Dirty Duathlon - a race run by Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in 2003. Since then, she has taken the Texas Mountain Bike Racing state championship and is the top-ranked racer in the nation for her age group according to USA Cycling.
While being considered the best in the nation in two different sports may seem daunting to some, Kiersten takes it all in stride.
"It's fun," she said after a recent training session at Cole Park. "I get to travel and see what places look like. And I get to meet my friends and make new friends."
The soon-to-be fourth grader at Windsor Park Elementary has taken to the technical aspects of mountain bike racing quickly. She and her father Robert generally ride the race route the day before each competition. She has quickly developed a skill for reading trails, has great speed up the hills and shows no fear on the downhill portions - although she has taken some tumbles. She is undefeated in five Texas races, finishing ahead of many older racers.
The 9-year-old is making waves beyond Corpus Christi. She is featured in the June edition of Sports Illustrated for Kids and was in the April/May issue of Girls Life Magazine.
This September, Kiersten will attempt to win two national titles. In Atlanta, she will attempt to become the first person to win three straight IronKids national triathlon championships. A week later, she will head cross-country to the Mountain Biking national championships at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
To improve Kiersten's chances in the mountain bike race, her father purchased a bike used by top-ranked U.S. women's rider Willow Koerber - who, at 5-foot-1, is one of the shorter professional racers.
The bike, which Koerber used in the 2003 World Championships, is only slightly big for Kiersten, but it is much lighter and stronger than her previous bike and should give her a better run up the hills.
But for someone at the top already, it should be an easy downhill trip wherever she goes.