- Home: Longwood, FL
- Birthdate: 5/4/1976
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Member
USAT National Team Member
2007 Haul to the Great Wall Series Champion
2005 ITU #1 Ranked in the World
2005 USOC Sportsman of the Year
2000, 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Member
2003 Pan Am Games Gold Medalist
2000-07 Resident Team Member
1999, 2000, 2003-04 USOC Triathlete of the Year
1999 Pan Am Games Silver Medalist
1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 Elite National Champion
Full Name: Hunter Craig Kemper
Hometown: Longwood, Fla.
Resides: Colorado Springs, Colo.
College: Wake Forest University
Height: 6-3
Weight: 163
Birthdate: 5/4/76
Birth Place: Charlotte, N.C.
Years Elite: 11
Final 2007 ITU Rank: 82
Final 2007 USAT Rank: 8
Website: http://www.hunterkemper.com/
Competitor Radio Interview: Hunter Kemper
Watch a July 23 Interview with Hunter
Find out More about Hunter Kemper in this Extensive Profile and Q&A
Personal: Hunter Craig Kemper… Born May 4, 1976 in Charlotte, N.C… Moved to Longwood (Orlando), Fla., when he was one year old… Parents, Gretchen and Tom, live in Longwood, Fla… Older sister Leigh is a kindergarten teacher in Orlando… On June 14, 2003, Kemper married Val Sterk, a former all-American volleyball player at Michigan State University and a former member of the U.S. national volleyball team. The two met while training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs… Has a son, Davis Thomas Kemper... Kemper was featured in the Dec. 11, 1989 issue of Sports Illustrated’s “Faces In The Crowd” for then being the only 13-year-old to win the Senior Division (11-14) of the IronKids Triathlon National Championship… Earned a B.A. in business from Wake Forest in May 1998… Named to the Dean’s List every semester during college… Received Wake Forest Athletic Academic Excellence Award each of his four years… Named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, Golden Key National Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa (honorary leadership fraternity)… If he could only have one food for the rest of his life, it would be pizza… Became the first professional triathlete to be featured on the cover of the Wheaties cereal box in 2007… Featured in a September 1999 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, as part of an Olympic athlete fashion feature… Featured in VISA ad called "Kangaroo Dreams" and a Chevy Trucks ad before the 2000 Olympic Games.
Elite Triathlon Career: 2007 Haul to the Great Wall Series Champion… Won ITU Longmont Continental Cup in 2007… Won unprecedented sixth USAT Elite National Title in 2006… 2006 Lifetime Fitness Triathlon champion… Tied career best with seventh place finish at ITU World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland… Earned podium finishes at three World Cup events in 2006 (Edmonton, Ishigaki, Mooloolaba)… In 2005, Kemper became the first U.S. man to be ranked No. 1 in the ITU world rankings… Named 2005 USOC SportsMan of the Year… Named 2005 USOC Male Triathlete of the Year… Recipient of 2005 Jim Thorpe All-Around Award... Qualified for the 2004 Olympic team by finishing as the first American, second overall at the Race to Athens – Honolulu on April 19… Finished second in that race to Canadian rival Simon Whitfield… Qualified for the 2003 world championships, but did not compete due to illness… Victory at the 2003 ITU World Cup in Madrid, Spain, was the first World Cup win for a U.S. male since Wes Hobson in 1994… Won the first gold medal ever for a U.S. male at the Pan American Games in 2003… Qualified for the 2003 Pan American team by finishing as the first U.S. man at the Baker's Breakfast Cookies ITU International Triathlon on June 6, 2003… Named the USOC Male Triathlete of the Year for 2000… Helped win three spots for U.S. men at 2000 Games in Sydney when he placed seventh at the ITU World Championships in Perth, Australia, a race he hadn’t been planning to do. … Once the United States had three spots, Hunter got one of them by virtue of his 11th-place finish at the ITU World Cup in Sydney… Defeated American record holder Steve Scott by almost five seconds at the 2000 Competitor Magazine/Greg Welch Mile, in conjunction with the San Diego (Calif.) Indoor Games… Earned a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.
Amateur Triathlon Career: In 1997, won the USA Triathlon Amateur National Championship at the Columbia (Md.) Triathlon… Won the Goodings Sprint Triathlon in Clermont, Fla… In 1996, was the first U.S. Amateur and sixth junior at the ITU World Championship in Cleveland, Ohio… Named USA Triathlon Junior Athlete of the Year and All-American by Inside Triathlon… Was the first junior and third overall at the Boulder (Colo.) Peak Triathlon, defeating 1997 World Champion Chris McCormack who finished fourth… Was the first junior and second overall at the Monument Park Sprint Triathlon in Colorado Springs, Colo… Member of the 1996 USA Triathlon Junior National Team… In 1993, won the junior division of the USA Triathlon National Sprint Championship in Miami, Fla… Was the fourth junior at the USA Triathlon Amateur National Championship at Leon’s QEM Triathlon in Hammond, Ind… Was the first junior and fourth overall at the Wendy’s Triathlon in Columbus, Ohio… Named an all-American by Inside Triathlon… In 1992, won the junior division at the USAT National Amateur Championship in Cleveland… From 1986-90, won five consecutive IronKids Triathlon National Championship titles from the age of 10-14.
Athletic Background: Began swimming competitively at age 6… Swam for Parnell Barracudas Club team in Orlando, Fla… Was introduced to triathlon at age 10 by friends on his swim team… Ran cross country and track in college to improve his running in triathlons… Sent an inquiry letter to the Wake Forest cross country and track programs and received a letter from the coaches along with a women’s media guide… His non-gender specific name and relatively slow times caused the coaches to assume he was a female… Before college running was his weakest discipline… Took 1994 and 1995 off from triathlon to concentrate on his running… Decided to return to the sport in 1996 because it was his last chance to race as a junior at a World Championship (Cleveland, Ohio)… Four-year letterwinner in cross country and track at Wake Forest University… As a senior, was second in the 10,000 meters at the 1998 ACC Outdoor Track Championship (30:46) and ninth as a junior in 1997… His 10K personal best is 30:17… Was eighth at the 1998 ACC Indoor Track Championship… Was the 1996 Florida Cycling Time-Trial Amateur Champion.
