SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Like many worthwhile endeavors, Ron Yerkes’ immersion into the triathlon world started with a healthy dose of peer pressure.
“I got roped into doing the Tahoe Triathlon with some friends,” he said. “My first go was miserable. I had a panic attack in the swim leg.”
But despite the trepidation, he kept coming back year after year, determined to improve and eventually, he won the race in his age group.
“Initially, I just did it as an experiment and something that was fun, and then, [as] I got into it, I thought, ‘well, this is great because I’m at an age where I need to start thinking about my longevity and health and stuff,’ and so that became a thing.”
Yerkes has now been at it for 10 years, and this year, at the age of 60, he will represent South Lake Tahoe and the United States at the highest-level amateur triathlon competition in the world—the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Finals.
“It’s very much like an Olympics for the sport,” he expressed.
Complete with a Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony, the competition takes place in September in Pontevedra, Spain, where he will join elite athletes from around the world.
Yerkes has qualified for the United States Triathlon National Championships four times, a qualifying event for this world championship and made Team USA this year.
“I never thought I would have gotten to this point,” he said, “but it’s been a lot of work”
Training six days a week, Yerkes frequents the swimming pool and lifting area at the new recreation center in South Lake Tahoe. You may also see him running on school tracks, along lakeside paths, and swimming in Lake Tahoe.
In addition to the sport’s physical benefits, Yerkes is drawn to the challenge.
“I like to do things that are hard in life, that require some learning, and this sport is all about that,” he explained. He was determined to learn and master three disciplines in which he had previously had no formal athletic experience.
The competition and challenge motivate Yerkes to stay active and improve in these disciplines. In pursuing his training, he balances his tenacious drive with a certain mentality.
“I think that the other part of it is to have the attitude that you’re just out to have fun. I mean, that’s what it’s all about,” he said, “and I think people, when they lose that perspective, it can become stressful, and then they’ll avoid it.”
He encourages those who have ever considered competing in a triathlon to do so with a friend, start training slowly and, most importantly, say “yes.”
“My own experience is we’re capable of way more than we think, and you just have to get out there and try.”
