Acoma/Lakota to Compete in US Ironkids Triathlon Championships

Native News Network Staff in Native Currents. Discussion »

DES MOINES, IOWA – Seven year old Hepanna Gayton has only competed in one Ironkids Triathlon, but his time was good enough to get him qualified for the US Championships.

Hepanna Gayton In His First Ironkids this
Past June in Lawrence, Kansas

This young Acoma and Lakota runs this morning in Des Moines at the Hy-Vee Ironkids US Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

He will compete in the Junior division along with six to eight year olds, one of his goals, is not to only finish, but Gayton said&358; "I want to be healthy."

A little taller than other seven year olds, his mother Rhonda LeValdo-Gayton said he was always that way "he was almost ten pounds when he was born and he was always off the growth charts, but we know how kids can be, so we always make him feel comfortable about his size."

Both parents, who are runners, said they try to set good examples by always running with their kids, even when they were babies, they pushed them in jogging strollers.

Hepanna Gayton - Acoma/Lakota

“Hepanna was in a jogger two days after he was born, he grew up in a jogger. As he grew up he wanted to do races as well,”

commented his mother.

Gayton completed his first 5K when he was five years old. His mother is the first to let people know she didn't push him to do this.

“We made sure he wanted to run, his sister wanted to as well, but she was 8 at the time so we felt she be okay, but a 5 year old? He kept on asking so I ran with him, he did a great job. When I was five, I never even thought about running that far, both my kids amaze me.”

In his first Ironkids this past June in Lawrence, Kansas, he completed the 50 meter swim, 2 mile bike ride and 500 meter run in 20 minutes and 47 seconds. Today's US championships are same.

The Hy-Vee Ironkids US Championships are being held at Gray's Lake. Gayton's race time is approximately around 9:30 am, cdt. The Ironkids’ mission is to lead an active, positive and healthy lifestyle one which Hepanna Gayton is already doing.

Regardless of Gayton's placement today, he is already a young champion in Indian country.

To see Hepanna's video of his first Ironkids, go to this link:

posted September 1, 2012 7:00 am edt