Making the transition from the athlete

The sweltering Hawaii heat did not slow down Eric Limkemann. He swam through the clear… The sweltering Hawaii heat did not slow down Eric Limkemann. He swam through the clear temperate waters off Waikiki Beach, bicycled along a technical course up Diamond Head Volcano and endured a strenuous run through Honolulu’s Kapiolani Park.

And he did it in less than two hours.

But now Limkemann is home at Pitt, where he got his undergraduate degree in 2004, and where he’s now the assistant coach for the swimming and diving team, a team on which he served, and served well, during his college years.

The transition from being the one getting coached to the one doing the coaching has been a major change for Limkemann.

“There are times when I get frustrated because I’m so close to being a swimmer, just graduating in 2004, that I feel that some people should think the way I do,” he said. “I am learning that is not always going to be the case.”

Head coach Chuck Knoles feels that Limkemann is doing a great job of dealing with this transition.

“The most difficult thing in going from athlete to coach is learning how to communicate your ideas. Eric is handling that very well,” said Knoles.

Knoles hired Limkemann last year because of his experience as a racer and his experience in exercise science.

“What I enjoy the most about coaching is the interaction I have with the students. I coach the distance group and they are nuts. They work so hard and I am so proud of them,” Limkemann said.

Limkemann, who graduated with a degree in exercise science, won a total of nine Big East Championships while swimming at Pitt. He is a four-time conference winner in the 1650 freestyle and only the second Panther to win an event all four years. Limkemann, a 2002 NCAA Championship qualifier, also earned the prestigious Blue and Gold Award in 2004 for his commendable work as a student-athlete.

Then, just after graduating, he began to apply his athletic ability to a new sport, the triathlon.

“I enjoy working out and I knew I was at the end of my competitive career with swimming. Triathlons provided a new direction for me,” Limkemann said.

In triathlons, athletes compete in three successive events with no breaks in between, usually long-distance swimming, bicycling and running. So when triathlons recently became popular in Pittsburgh, Limkemann decided to test the sport out and see how he liked it.

“I was always pretty good at running and biking from cross training in the off-season and I couldn’t do them during college because I was focusing on swimming. The triathlon sounded like something I would enjoy, so I gave it a shot,” he said.

And he’s very glad he did.

On Oct. 9, Limkemann participated in the 2005 JAL Honolulu ITU Triathlon World Championships, an event comprised of many elite athletes from all over the world. The race consisted of a 1500m swim, 40k bike ride and a 10k run. He successfully finished third in his age group and placed 10th overall.

For Limkemann, the hardest part of the triathlon was the 10k run because it was extremely hot and the run was at the end of the race. If it were up to him, they would run before bicycling.

“The triathlon in Hawaii was definitely a great experience,” he said. “I had the chance to meet a lot of helpful people who have been in the sport a lot longer than me.”

To prepare, Limkemann uses whatever time he can get. As a second-year coach for the Panthers, he cannot devote as much time as he would like to his training. He usually gets an hour and half in every day after he is done coaching. He concentrates on bicycling and running because the swimming part comes naturally for him, although he wishes he could spend more time in the pool. After a day of coaching and training, Limkemann heads home to spend as much time as possible with his new wife and unofficial manager, Ashley, a 2005 Pitt Graduate.

Limkemann has qualified for many triathlons that will take place in the upcoming year. One that he is very excited about is “The Escape From Alcatraz” on June 4, 2006.

The course starts with a 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, continues with an 18-mile bike ride out the Great Highway and concludes with an 8-mile run through Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This includes running in the sand, which is much harder than running on solid ground.

Limkemann would love to be training in Colorado Springs at the elite level sometime in the future. He is applying to get sponsorship from major companies such as Cliff Bar, Iron Man Wetsuits and other bike and running-shoe companies.

By balancing coaching, being a newlywed and competing in triathlons, some would say that Limkemann is not only a triple threat in his athletic abilities, but also a triple threat in the bigger scope of life, especially for a 24-year-old.

“Eric is doing a great job of competing, working and studying. He is fulfilling his potential,” Knoles said.

Limkemann is currently concentrating on making the transition from his student life to his professional role as a coach.

“Right now,” he said, “I’m just trying to be grown up.”