elete Sponsored Athlete Profiles

Erica Tingey Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Champion

Erica Tingey balances a full and active life not only as a champion cross country mountain bike racer, but as a busy wife and mom. Her love and devotion to her family is very evident, and Erica credits cycling with helping her to be an awesome mother.

“My passion is being the best mother I can be,” says Tingey, “and riding my bike helps me be that! Riding and racing motivates me to get out of bed and do my workouts and eat the way I do. It keeps me exercising through the winter when it’s not as enjoyable. It keeps me full of energy and life and that helps me be a better mother to my son.”

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Audrey Sniezek Pro Rock Climber

With a degree in computer science, Audrey worked as a software professional for 15 years. But it was in university where her friends introduced her to the sport that has captured her heart, and taken her around the world. "Rock climbing quickly became my passion and my peace," says Audrey.

"I have been climbing now for over 20 years and in these later years, I’ve been driven to pursue my potential to the max," she said. "I train hard, but efficiently. I care about performing in this sport for the long haul and take care to nourish and treat my body well."

In addition to her professional career as a climber and software professional, Audrey also believes in giving back to her community. She donates her time and talents to helping high school kids in rural communities develop and hone their computer science skills so they can pursue a career in the field beyond high school.

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Nick Duttle Champion Rock Climber

Nick Duttle is a professional climber from Las Cruces, New Mexico who currently travels the country in order to climb the most difficult and technical sport routes and boulders.

Nick was born with a genetic condition, hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, which affects the skin and development of sweat glands. The doctors told Nick’s mother that he would not live past the age of three. Yet, Nick not only proved the doctors wrong, he went on to become one of the world’s strongest climbers.

Nick guides climbing trips in Colorado in the summers, enjoys teaching clinics and attending climbing events whenever possible, and serves as an ambassador/sponsored athlete for several well-known climbing and outdoor companies.

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Caitlin Gregg Cross Country Winter Olympian

Caitlin is currently training for the 2014 Winter Olympics. She will compete at U.S. Nationals in January, 2013 and aims to make her Fourth World Championship Team.

"I came across elete Electrolyte Add-In™ while I was training in Canmore, Alberta," Caitlin said. "I was training in the cold dry air at altitude and knew that I needed a great electrolyte drink during training. A local athlete suggested I try elete and the rest is history. I instantly felt the benefits of the increased recovery despite putting in higher hours on snow."

Caitlin spends her free time as a mentor and role model for at-risk youth in North Minneapolis. The goal of the program is to teach the children about the benefits of exercise and healthy eating. She loves working with these kids and has found a real passion for educating them about the opportunities that exist for them with sports.

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Marie Kirton Ironman Athlete

Marie Kirton was born a die-hard athlete. She grew up in a small farming town in New Zealand and tried as many sports (running, swimming, netball, rugby, soccer,) as she was able to during her childhood and high school years. While studying Physical Education and Commerce at university, Marie completed her first half marathon. "I had never known such pain," she said.

Marie has competed in four Ironman races, seven Half Ironmans, and numerous other standard and sprint distance triathlons. In 2011, she placed 3rd and 4th in her age group at the UK Half Ironman and UK Full Ironman and qualified for the World Long Distance Champs and the Ironman 70.3 world champs earlier this year.

Read Marie's Full Profile

Sally Bigham Pro MTB Rider

"I’m not a ‘normal’ pro-rider," says Sally Bigham, a pro-mountain bike racing sensation who lives in England. "I didn’t gradually rise through the ranks. Instead I stumbled across mountain biking in 2006 and 2 years later I found myself competing against the World’s best."

Sally is currently ranked number one in the UCI World Marathon Rankings. Her victories in 2011 include: The Cape Epic 8 day stage race (South Africa), Andalucia 6 day stage race (Spain), Grand Raid Cristalp (Switzerland), Roc D’Azur (France), Adamello bike marathon (Italy), Kitzalp (Austria), and Etna marathon (Sicily).

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Andrew Augustyniak Pro Golfer

Born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, Andrew Augustyniak was a two-time, first-team, all-state golfer in high school. In college, he became a first team All-American junior college golfer. After graduating with his degree in Business Management, Andrew has continued to follow his dream to become a high-ranking professional golfer.

“Within the first week of adding elete Electrolytes to my water," says Andrew, "I noticed a big difference. On the course, my energy level seems to stay constant throughout the day. The difference in using elete electrolyte water as opposed to just water is very noticeable.”

Read Andrew's Full Profile

Sharon Gayter Ultra-Endurance Running Champion

Sharon Gayter took up running in her twenties to keep fit and complete the London Marathon. Having achieved that, it wasn’t long before she moved up to ultras. Sharon quickly advanced to more extreme, longer, hotter, harder, and higher races.

Sharon has been an international athlete at both 100km and 24-hour events since 1994 and has represented England on more than 25 occasions and won several medals. Sharon’s list of running accomplishments is impressive to say the least and is a testament to her strength, determination, and grit.

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Drew Edsall Endurance Mountain Bike Racer

Although he excels at endurance and stage racing, you will also see Drew racing in his favorite crosscountry, cyclo-cross, and Xterra races. Prior to mountain bike racing, Drew was a three-time decathlon champion in college and traveled the globe playing soccer in high school

Drew graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in exercise sciences. He holds a level 2 USAC coaching license and coaches numerous cyclists and triathletes throughout the country.

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Jon Michael McGrath International Skeet Shooting Champion

Jon Michael McGrath is an international skeet shooting champion. He is the first American to win the Gold medal at the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Championship in Munich, Germany in the category of Men’s Junior Skeet.

He is currently a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO with plans to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In fact, Jon, is a voting member of the Cherokee Tribe and Nation, and hopes to be the first Cherokee to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in Skeet Shooting.

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Richard Yates International 400 Meter Hurdler

 

Richard Yates is an international 400-meter hurdler. In the summer of 2008, he won the U.K. senior championships and Olympic Trials for 400 hurdles and was controversially left out of the Olympic team. Richard holds the U.K. under 23, 400 hurdles record with a time of 49.06. He is also a national champion at under 23 level, and he regularly competes on the international circuit. Following an injury-plagued season in 2009, he was recently selected to represent England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India. There, he finished 5th in the 400 hurdles and 3rd in the 4×400 relay.

In addition to racing, Richard works as a trainee solicitor in the area of divorce and family and will be furthering his legal training in the area of commercial property later this year. Read Richard's Full Profile

Jens Van Poucke Professional Ice Hockey Goalie

 

Jens Van Poucke, 24 years old, is an ice hockey goalie who grew up in Bruges, Belgium and currently lives in Turnhout, Belgium. During the 2010 season, Jens played with Antwerp Phantoms in the Belgian Elite League. He won a Bronze medal at the World Championships with Team Belgium. Jens, who started playing hockey at age 11 (an age that some consider late for the starting path to professional sports) has accomplished quite a bit in the 13 years he has played hockey.

He spent the 2003-2004 season playing midget major AAA and junior hockey. The following season, Jens played Division 3 hockey in France with a spot on a team competing in the French Elite League (Ligue Magnus) from 2005 to 2006. From 2006 to 2009, he was part of the Manhattanville Valiants competing in the U.S Read Jens' Full Profile

Rich Webb Iron-Distance Triathlete
Rich raises awareness and money for two causes very near and dear to his heart—Lupus and Hempophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis or HLH. Rich’s mother, Kathleen Hale Webb, passed away a year ago following a lifelong battle with Lupus. Dear friends of Rich lost their infant daughter to HLH, a rare disorder that primarily affects young children. Children with HLH produce an excess of histiocytes and lymphocytes, infection-fighting cells in the body, which causes inflammation, loss of function, organ damage, and death. This elete athlete with a big heart recently spoke with us about his racing and training schedule Read Rich's Full Profile

Zack Fleishman Professional Tennis Player
Zack Fleishman’s tennis career was set in motion at the young age of eight. As young as 13, he was competing and winning numerous top-ranked Junior tennis events. He was ranked No. 2 in Boys 18 and Under in addition to being a top-ranked player in Southern California in Boys 14 and Under. At age 18, Zack began playing tennis at UCLA and finished the 1998-99 season at the No. 2 position. Following that first year, Zack turned professional. Since that time, he’s qualified for the Australian Open in 2006, 2007, and, again, in 2008. In his 2006 match against Dick Norman of Belgium, Zack was able to force a fifth set, but lost. In 2007, he defeated then 26th-ranked Agustin Calleri of Argentina in the first round before he lost to Wayne Arthurs. Read Zack's Full Profile

Giant Mid Atlantic Pro Cycling Team
Giant Mid-Atlantic is a new rider-managed professional team based in Pennsylvania, competing in mountain bike and cyclocross races in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. The team, formed in 2009, consists of riders Jordan Kahlenberg, Martin Kell, and Matt Miller. All three are Pennsylvania natives. Read GMAs Full Profile

Lora Erickson Competitive Triathlete, and Professional Athletic Trainer
Lora Erickson aka Blonde Runner is a competitive runner and triathlete with over 25 years of experience. As one of Colorado's top distance runners, various colleges throughout the United States heavily recruited her. Lora accepted an athletic scholarship running for Utah State University where she was honored as an All-Conference runner and graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Health Education with dual minors in Nutrition and Chemistry. She is the owner of Blonde Runner Health LLC in Bountiful, Utah where she currently resides with her husband and four children. Read Lora's Full Profile

Kelsey Stratton Bikram Yoga
Did Bikram Yoga find Kelsey Stratton or did Kelsey find Bikram Yoga? In this case, it was a fortuitous and serendipitous meeting. In 2003, Kelsey, who lives in Cambridge, MA, was training for the 2004 Boston Marathon when she was diagnosed with sciatica. This debilitating condition occurs when the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the buttocks and legs, is irritated and inflamed. Kelsey ran the Boston Marathon, retired from running, quit her job, and started her business that sells canned oxygen: www.oxygenpod.com. It was quite a week! Read Kelsey's Full Profile

Micah Huss Cross-Country Snowmobile Racer
Micah Huss, age 34, was raised in Kotzebue, Alaska, a small Eskimo community 33 miles above the Arctic Circle with a population of 3,000 people—very remote and accessible only by airplane. He is currently a heavy equipment operator for Northland Services in Anchorage, Alaska. He operates a 80-ton forklift off loading and loading freight barges. Micah’s interests include hunting, camping, flying, being with family and friends, and, of course, racing of all kinds. Read Micah's Full Profile

Devin Wayman Competitive Rock Climber
My name is Devin Wayman. I am 18 years old. I love to travel and experience new things in life. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Since the age of 8, I’ve been lucky enough to travel about every other year to somewhere in the world. I also really enjoy the water, scuba diving, and seeing some amazing islands and new places. I came across rock climbing about a year ago. I gave it a try and I was hooked from day one. Read Devin's Full Profile

Alex Miller U.S. Ski Team Member and Nordic Combined Skier
Alex Miller, age 24, grew up in Steamboat Springs, CO and began training with the Nordic Combined team based in Steamboat. Alex and his twin brother, Davis, are among twelve prestigious and talented athletes who were recently named to the U.S. Nordic Combined Team. Read Alex's Full Profile

Max Ando Hirsh Junior Tennis Player
After residing in New York City for two years, Max recently relocated to Austin, Texas in order to devote himself full time to tennis. In between his rigorous training schedule, school studies, and cross-country relocation, elete caught up with Max. Read Max's Full Profile

Louie Amelburu Pro Racing Cyclist
When he entered his first charity bicycle ride at the age of 28, Louie Amelburu, 44, a resident of Las Vegas Nevada, had no idea that his first race would ignite a lifelong passion for cycling. Read Louie 's Full Profile

Astrid Varga Marathon Runner
Astrid Varga is living proof that some of the best things in life happen when we’re older. Seventeen years ago, Astrid, then 40, ran her first 10k taking first place in the Master’s category. That day, Astrid was transformed into a long-distance marathon runner. Read Astrid's Full Profile

Gavin and Shelley Phillips Ultra-Distance Desert Runners and International Adventurers
There is hardly a dull moment for husband- and wife- athletes and global adventurers, Gavin and Shelley (nee Michelle Burke) Phillips. Gavin and Shelley, native Australians, have lived on three continents and have traveled to more than 50 countries. Read Thier Full Profile

Ashley Battersby Freeskier
In the formidable and male-dominated sport of freeskiing or freeriding, Ashley Battersby, 19, of Park City, UT clearly stands out from the rest—and not just because she’s a female. Her gravity and death-defying leaps and 360s in addition to her rail jam moves are award winning and awe-inspiring. Read Ashley's Full Profile

Don Harper Professional Bass Fisherman
Unlike other professional sports—cycling, running, triathlons—in which, literally, time is money, in the world of professional bass fishing, it’s weight that reigns. And like other professional sports, professional bass fishing tournaments offer some pretty serious (six- and seven- figure) cash purses to the lucky fisherman (or woman) who can weigh in with the days’ heaviest catch. Read Don's Full Profile

Jeff Kerkove Endurance Mountain Bike Racer
While Iowa may not be well known for its mountainous geography, the Hawkeye State has produced an awesome mountain bike cycling sensation—Jeff Kerkove, a.k.a. “Mr. 24.” Read Jeff's Full Profile

Ryan Draper Ultra-Endurance Mountain Biker
Ryan Draper, age 29, is a human dynamo. He is an ultra-endurance mountain bike racer who—in between training and racing as a professional cyclist in Canmore, Alberta, Canada—is also a performance consultant, coach and spin instructor, and general manager of Rebound Cycle, a bike shop located in Canmore. Read Ryan's Full Profile

Sandra Tomlinson Endurance Mountain Bike Racer
Sandra Tomlinson is one of the most inspiring, driven athletes (as well as one of the fastest endurance mountain bikers) you will ever meet. Sandra, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, is also a mother to three children. Read Sandra's Full Profile

Eric Hanson Natural Gym Assoc. (NGA)
All-Natural Bodybuilder Eric Hanson is a professional bodybuilder with the Natural Gym Association's All-Natural Bodybuilder organization. Eric, who lives in Utah, has been competing in bodybuilding events for nearly 20 years. Read Eric's Full Profile

Bicycle John’s No. 1 Ranked Elite Road Racing Team in Southern California 2006
Formed in 2004, Bicycle John’s is a women’s elite road team from Burbank, California that in 2006, was the number one ranked road racing team in all of Southern California. elete Electrolyte Add-In™ has sponsored bicycle John ’s for two years. Read Bicycle John’s Full Profile

The Power of Team Team Illinois
Team Illinois–a.k.a. Joel Burrows, Nancy Fudacz-Burrows, and Dave Kuhnau–is the first team to complete and take first place in three out of four Racing the Planet desert races (Gobi, Chile, Sahara, and Antarctica). Read Team Illinois's Full Profile

Team Profile: Team Revolution
If you are a woman currently living outside of St. Louis, Missouri, by the time you finish reading this article you will probably want to move there for two reasons: 1. St. Louis Revolution and 2. Team Revolution. Read Team Revolution's Full Profile

Lanny and Tracy Barnes Biathletes
For those who are new to the sport of biathlon—the Olympic winter sport combining cross-country ski racing with rifle marksmanship—it is a physically demanding, riveting sport to watch, and it's easy to see why. Read Thier Full Profile

Sarah Kaufmann Endurance Mountain Bike Racer
Sarah Kaufmann, 25, is a dedicated, driven endurance mountain bike racer. She has been an enduro mountain bike racer going on two years now and participates in 24-hour endurance mountain bike events all over the country. Read Sarah's Full Profile

Justin Robbins Ultimate Fighter
A rising star in Ultimate Fighting or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Justin Robbins, 26, has participated in 13 professional fights with 10 wins, two losses, and one draw. Read Justin's Full Profile

Steve Benedict Sprinter
Steve Benedict is a sprinter who has the strength, speed, stamina to dust the competition. He boasts a time of 10.45 for the 100-meter dash and 21.24 for the 200-meter dash. Read Steve's Full Profile