It’s an outstanding accomplishment to earn a place on the age-group podium when competing in a triathlon. It’s an extraordinary accomplishment when everyone in your family earns a place on an age-group podium in a triathlon.
Turns out, the Gauthier family is extraordinary.
In 2023, at Grand Rapids Triathlon, Eric Gauthier (64) of St. Charles, Illinois participated in the Olympic triathlon alongside his two daughters Cyrielle Sylvester (32) and Meghan Gauthier (28). While Eric has been an avid triathlete for decades and is a current USA Triathlon certified coach, his daughters did not get into the multisport world until the last few years.
Cyrielle joined her dad in 2021, completing a 70.3 half-distance race together, which ultimately inspired Meghan to start training as well.
GRTri became the first time that all three stepped up to the starting line together.
All three finished within less than two minutes of each other and placed in the top-three of their respective age groups.
For the Gauthier family, triathlon truly has become a family affair.
They said of their GRTri race day…
What is your background with triathlon and/or endurance sports?
EG: I did my first triathlon race in 1988 in France. I have been competing since then but with sometimes long interruptions due to work, family, and injuries. I have done all distances from Sprint to Ultra, qualified with Team USA for the Aquabike world championship in 2018.
And after a very demanding corporate career, I decided to retire early and become a USAT coach. I have been coaching individual athletes for the past 10 years.
CS: I grew up being fairly active, but as an adult I found myself gravitating more towards yoga and running. However, in the Summer of 2020 I felt restless and wanted to work towards a goal. My dad was planning on racing a Half-Ironman in 2021, and I figured why not do it too? I asked him to start training me and ever since then I’ve been hooked.
MG: I have always been a relatively active person, with running being my passion. I started to train for triathlons when I saw my sister compete in a half iron man race with my dad. I saw the joy that could come from racing together and that was all the motivation I needed to join this sport with them.
What is it like racing in an event with your family? Did you train together?
EG: I coach my two daughters, which sometimes include training together when our respective schedules allow it. We are all very competitive, especially with each other, which is quite funny because we are almost more focused on beating each other than winning or placing in our own respective age divisions!
CS: Racing together is amazing. It is so much fun and motivating to know that they are out there too swimming/biking/running. We would train together whenever we got the opportunity to. I biked with my dad several times in the spring and summer. I can’t keep up with my sister in running or my dad in swimming, but it’s also motivating and brings out our competitive sides to compare our training times!
MG: Training for a race with family is a lot of fun. We not only keep each other motivated, but we also are slightly competitive and love to compare our times and results. Our group chat has us constantly teasing each other while asking when we can get together to train together next.
How was your overall race experience that day? What was your favorite part of the day/race?
EG: Great race and venue and the best part was to see and pass each other during the race. If I remember correctly we finished within less than 2minutes of each other.
CS: Race day had been a blast. It was so nice getting up early together that morning, setting up our transition areas and talking through our race-day jitters. We also knew that our overall times would be very close, so it was fun to be competitive with one another and bet on who would take 1st, 2nd and 3rd between the three of us. My favorite part of the day was seeing my dad and sister out on the course. I knew that if we were all racing well that day that my dad and sister would be well ahead of me by the end of the swim. I knew that I likely wouldn’t have a shot at passing my dad on the bike, but that potentially I could pass my sister on the bike. She is the strongest runner of the three of us, so then it was a question of would she re-pass me on the run and could I catch up and pass my dad on the run. It was a cat-and-mouse game. We did end up seeing each other on the run course, and it was so fun to just motivate and encourage one another to keep going. It was overall just a super exciting day that we all look back on with such fond memories.
MG: Race morning is always a little nerve wrecking, especially since it was the first one of the season for me. Having my sister and dad there put me at ease as we discussed when we could fuel during the race, what we would wear on the bike as I remember it being chilly that morning, and went through the logistics of each transition. My favorite part of the day is when we all passed each other on the race course. I remember seeing both my dad and sister on the bike and run course and knowing who was catching up to who. Additionally, at the end of the race we, of course, compare our times during each sport and see how we did and all congratulate each other regardless of the outcome. When we all found out that we had placed within our age group we could not believe it and we were very excited.
Would you recommend GRTri as an event to do with your family/friends?
EG: Yes!
CS: Absolutely. The course is great, and everything from set-up to post-race celebration was wonderful and well organized. We had a blast that day and still talk about how much we enjoyed racing together there.
MG: Yes! The course is flat and a great location for the start of the Midwest triathlon season. The end of the race celebration has a hometown feeling to it, even if you are not from the area. I think it is a great race.
