Yo!
That is quite a hint to know who we are going to talk about today?
He is outspoken, full of energy, and of course the best at what he does.
This greeting gives it all away.
Yes, we are going to talk about the story of Sam Long today.
The colorado born triathlete has scaled quite a few heights in his short but sizeable career
so far.
Aged 26, Long has already established himself as one of America's best long-distance athletes.
As seen by his expanding collection of 70.3 and IRONMAN medals, the 6-foot 4-inch man
is growing even taller in stature.
After completing his first IRONMAN at the age of 18, Long has within no time reached
the top of the triathlete circuit.
The people who he once idolized while growing up are now racing against him.
Not just racing, the 26-year-old is even getting ahead of his idols on the leaderboard.
For all his speed on the bike and land, Long still has to work harder on his underwater
skills.
His story is a story of unmatched passion and enthusiasm.
In this video, we will go through his story and of course his achievements.
We will also see how Sam Long combined his physical strength and his persistent attitude
to become one of the top long-distance athletes in the US.
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Now let us get into the video.
It might sound unimaginable at this point, but Sam Long’s entry into the sport of triathlon
was purely by chance.
Long was into skiing during his high school days.
In his senior year of High School, Long suffered a serious injury.
It was revealed to him that he had torn his MCL.
MCL is one of the ligaments in the knee joints.
That tear forced him to take the bed and it was the rehabilitation process that pushed
him to triathlon.
As part of his rehabilitation process, Long decided to take up IRONMAN.
This is where all of it began.
The Big Unit, as he is widely called now, became the youngest American to win a full
IRONMAN competition five years later.
Talking about his childhood, Sam Long was born in Boulder, Colorado, on December 23rd,
1995.
He has three brothers and a sister, he being the eldest of them all.
His parents are also a very interesting couple.
Both of them have played valuable roles in his journey as an athlete.
Sam's mother Betty, a therapist, suggested regular deep-breathing exercises and meditation
to help him deal with the mental side of professional sports.
Sam has also been quite vocal about the importance of mental well-being for any professional
athlete.
Sam's father, Eric, has always been a passionate cyclist, but his accomplishments have enticed
him to rediscover his lifelong passion.
Eric won the 60-64 age group XTERRA Beaver Creek competition in July 2021.
Now let us talk about his achievements.
This year he has grabbed the gold at Challenge Peurto Varas and Clash Miami.
But the American has even bigger prizes against his name.
Apart from the multiple wins at 70.3 competitions, Long has also won a couple of full IRONMAN
races.
Alongside these victories, Long has now become a consistent feature on the podium of most
of the races he competes in.
Well if he is not on the podium, he is definitely somewhere very close to it.
He first raced in a professional Ironman at 70.3 Boulder in 2016.
In the same year in November, he finished 15th in Arizona in his first full-distance
race since going pro.
Soon after that, he broke into the top 10 positions of a full IRONMAN event.
Top-10 results in both full-distance and 70.3 events plagued the start of his 2018 until
he finished second at Louisville for his first full IRONMAN podium.
Long had been making steady improvements but still, his breakthrough had not arrived yet.
He was still waiting for that amazing run of performances that would help him get to
the top of the circuit.
2019 was that year for Sam Long.
After above-average performances in his early years, Long’s performances now made his
stature grow.
After finishing fifth in 70.3 St. George, he won his first 70.3 race in Chattanooga
in May.
He would capture another race less than a fortnight later, this time in Victoria.
Later in the same year, the American would win his first full IRONMAN.
At Chattanooga, Long took 8:22:20 to become the first to cross the finishing line.
From a competitor, Long had now turned into a winner.
Even the pandemic could not hamper the Big Unit’s rich vein of form.
He earned gold medals at PTO-supported Bear Lake Half and IRONMAN Cozumel 70.3.
He also became the youngest American to break the eight-hour mark in a full IRONMAN when
he finished third in Florida in 7:55:33.
His consistency earned him a spot in the Clash Dayton at the end of the year where he finished
9th in a star-studded race.
In 2021, Sam Long continued his amazing performances.
His second-place finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George behind Gustav
Iden earned him a lot of praise.
Talking about his future, Long said, “Being better in 2023 will come from having a better
swim so that I don’t have to waste the matches at the start of the bike and can use them
in different ways.”
He knows that swimming is his weakest suit and the man is trying his best at getting
better in the waters.
Disclosing his swimming session he said, “8 swims a week hitting around 30,000 yards a
week.
I have been swimming 5 quality swims a week.”
The Big Unit has just signed a huge contract with Trek and now they are his official bike
sponsor.
The net worth of the American athlete could be anywhere between $2.5-5 million.
This was the story of Sam Long’s life and the achievements he has received.
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