Rosalind and Lamar Sepulveda are generous sponsors of athletes.

Thanks to a major gift from the USA Triathlon Foundation, USA Triathlon's top-ranked athletes, including Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, will be able to continue to train and compete at the highest level.

Rosalind Jarrett Sepulveda

and her husband Lamar Sepulveda have been competing in triathlons for many years and Rosalind is currently an ambassador for the USA Triathlon Foundation. Rosalind was introduced to multisport after her doctor became concerned about her health. In 2002, at age 54, she got into the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society team's training and competition program and fell in love with the energy of the triathlon coaches. Her first race was the Treasure Island Olympic Triathlon and she joined the LA Tri Club shortly thereafter.

Rosalind continues to compete for the Team USA age group and is currently training for the 2024 World Duathlon Championships in Townsville, Australia, and the 2024 World Triathlon and Relay Triathlon Championships in Malaga, Spain.

In addition to the major donation, Rosalind and Lamar continue to raise funds for the USA Triathlon Foundation through the CEO Excellence Fund so they can support other areas of the sport's development. They have also graciously included the Foundation in their planned legacy so that the funds will be available in perpetuity.

In this interview, Rosalind shares her journey into the world of triathlon, her desire to change lives through sport, and encourages others to dedicate their passion for triathlon as an ambassador for the USA Triathlon Foundation.

How has triathlon helped shape other areas of your life.

As a child, I never excelled in sports and had little faith in my physical abilities. Before I started participating in triathlons, I never considered myself an athlete. The desire to train, eat right to provide energy, and the pride of completing races led to a desire to live a healthy lifestyle and push my limits. The camaraderie I have found in my local triathlon club and among national and international triathletes brings me so much joy. Not only did I fall in love with triathlon, but I also found my other half in the person of Lamar Sepulveda, a six-time Ironman finisher and founder of the "Pay It Forward" Challenge program!

How did you meet the USA Triathlon Foundation?

Philanthropy has been an important part of my life for many years. In 2012, at one of the ITU (now World Triathlon) races in San Diego, I asked the legendary Tim Yount, a representative of Team USA and USA Triathlon, if USA Triathlon had a charitable foundation. He assured me that something was in the pipeline. I was pleased to learn that the Foundation was established in 2014, but my charitable giving was concentrated elsewhere. In 2019, I discovered the ambassador program and the three pillars of the foundation by chance and decided to become a part of this mission and ambassador program.

Why did you choose to support the USA Triathlon Foundation?

Encouraging youth participation in multi-sport activities, inspiring access to training and competition for people of all ages, physical abilities, demographics, economic and social backgrounds, and through economic support igniting the dream of performing on the world stage for our top triathletes and paratriathletes are the Foundation's three pillars. This mission is deeply aligned with my own passion to see more people experience the euphoria and sense of accomplishment that I have experienced by participating in multi-sport events.

What do you think is important for other athletes and potential supporters to know about the USA Triathlon Foundation?

The Foundation offers opportunities for people to participate in swimming, biking and running, as well as the opportunity to participate in various combinations of multisport. I truly believe that participating in sports will lead to a healthier America.

One of my favorite Foundation initiatives is the annual training camp where sports enthusiasts live and train like Olympians and Paralympians. I have participated for the past two years and have already signed up for the 2024 Training Camp at the Olympic Training and Exercise Facility in Chula Vista, CA. The coaches are well known, the campers are strongly passionate about our sport and the Foundation, and the skills I learned have proven useful in competition on numerous occasions.

How important is the ambassador program to the mission of USA Triathlon Foundation?

This is my fourth year as an Ambassador. During the program, I met such wonderful athletes who are committed to pushing their limits on a personal level and serving others. Ambassadors have the opportunity to engage the public in the Foundation's mission and the benefits of multisport. Their base-level fundraising allows the Foundation to make more grants to multi-sport programs that can touch and change the lives of more people.

What successes have you been able to accomplish as chair of the 2023 Ambassador Team? "

I hope I have inspired Ambassador Team members to become our proverbial public speakers and hold fundraisers in their communities and spread the Foundation's message to their friends and families. Our 2023 team has already raised a record $100,000 and has been present at many local and national events. I hope their important work this year will inspire the 2024 team to continue and even surpass their efforts.

Join the USA Triathlon Foundation's Ambassador Team

Composed of multi-sport athletes who are eager to help their communities, the USA Triathlon Foundation Ambassador Team embodies the foundation's goals of supporting and promoting the virtues of triathlon and opening opportunities for everyone to swim, bike and run. The USA Triathlon Foundation's 2023 Ambassador Team set program records by having the largest team ever and surpassing $100,000 in fundraising.

For more details about the Ambassador Team program, visit the USA Triathlon Foundation website. To apply for the USA Triathlon Foundation 2024 Ambassador Team, click here.

About USA Triathlon Foundation

USA Triathlon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and the charitable arm of USA Triathlon. With a mission to transform lives through sport by providing opportunities to swim, bike and run, the Foundation seeks to make a greater impact on the multi-sport community through charitable giving and grants that advance the Foundation's three pillars: (1) encouraging youth participation; (2) inspiring pathways of access and inclusion; and (3) igniting Olympic/Paralympic dreams. Since its founding in 2014, the Foundation has transformed the lives of thousands of people by providing grants to organizations and individuals with the goal of creating a healthier United States through triathlon. To learn more about the Foundation and to get involved, visit www.usatriathlon.org/foundation.