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Becky Lavelle

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Becky (Gibbs) Lavelle
Born
Rebecca (Becky) Gibbs

(1974-12-05) 5 December 1974 (age 50)
Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA
EducationB.S. Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, summa cum laude
Occupations
  • Former Professional Triathlete
  • 2008 Olympic Alternate
  • Race Director
  • Competitive Runner
  • Coach
Years active2004–present
Spouse
Brian Lavelle
​
(m. 2002)​

Becky (Gibbs) Lavelle (born December 5, 1974) is a former professional triathlete, race director, competitive runner, and coach. As a professional triathlete, she has had over 50 career wins in Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races.[1]

Early life

Becky showed strong athletic promise from a young age. She started swimming competitively in Minnesota when she was nine and excelled in the pool throughout high school.

At the age of 12, Becky was named best swimmer of her age group in Minnesota, a title she would maintain for seven years. In 1993, during her senior year of high school, she was named (overall) Female Swimmer of the Year for Minnesota.

Becky went on to swim competitively at Louisiana State University (LSU) in college. Her collegiate swim career proved similarly illustrious, and before graduating, Becky had cemented herself as a ten-time NCAA All-American swimmer. Becky was crowned SEC Champion in 200y breaststroke, in 1996 during her junior year. Then in 1997, she was named NCAA state-level "Woman of the Year" for Louisiana, based on her athletic and academic achievements as well as her commitment to serving her community.[2] Despite the stresses that would accompany achieving these high goals, in 1998 Becky graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in kinesiology.

Before her collegiate career was even halfway over, Becky also got the itch to try a new sport – triathlon.[3]

Triathlon career beginnings

Becky took her initial stab at triathlon in college. During her first event, Becky exited the water with a significant lead that helped her win fifth place overall. Before graduating college, she successfully competed in a few more triathlons, including the ITU Age-Group World Championship. This newfound excitement for triathlon coupled with the success she already had achieved in the sport kickstarted her career as a professional triathlete - a career that would span nearly two decades.

Triathlon career highlights

Some of her career highlights as a member of the US National Triathlon Team are as follows:

  • In 2003, Becky was crowned the PanAm Games Bronze medallist.
  • In 2005, Triathlete magazine designated Becky the "Comeback Athlete of the Year" after she won several big races, including the US National Championships and the Chicago Triathlon.[4]
  • In 2006 and 2008, Becky was named Multi-sport Athlete of the Year by USA Triathlon.[5]
  • Again in 2007, Lavelle won the US Long Distance Triathlon National Championships.
  • In 2008, the same year she secured her spot as an alternate on the US Olympic team in Beijing, she was named the Overall Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series winner.[6]
  • In 2012, Becky officially retired from the sport of triathlon but went out with a bang, winning her final half-ironman distance competition, the Rev3 Florida Half-Ironman in Venice, FL.

Jenny's Light

In 2008, Becky Lavelle co-founded the non-profit organization Jenny's Light in honor of her late sister Jenny and her sister's baby boy Graham. Jenny's Light's mission is to improve and save lives by increasing awareness of all perinatal mood disorders, including postpartum depression. Jenny's Light has now joined forces with San Jose, CA based Supporting Mamas (supportingmamas.org) who has a similar mission. Additionally, the annual Jenny's Light Run (10K, 5K, and kids run) held in May in Los Gatos, CA helps raise funds for this very important cause. The organization has raised over $300,000, which they donated to other organizations aiming similarly to raise awareness around postpartum depression and to support mothers who suffer from the debilitating condition.[7][8]

Running after triathlon

After a few years of official retirement from triathlon and following the birth of her second child, Becky started running with Arete, a women's running club based in Santa Cruz, CA.[9]

Master's running personal records

Year Distance Competition Location Time Comment
2017 Marathon California International Marathon (CIM)  United States Sacramento, CA 02:56:50 Marathon debut
2019 Half-Marathon Monterey Bay Half-Marathon  United States Monterey, CA 01:24:00
2017 10K She Is Beautiful  United States Santa Cruz, CA 00:37:49
2018 5K Silicon Valley Turkey Trot  United States San Jose, CA 00:18:30

[10]

Notable triathlon accomplishments

Year Place Competition Location Time Comment
2012 1 Rev3 Florida Half-Ironman  United States Venice, FL 03:54:00 Win & last career race as a pro
2012 1 5150 New Orleans  United States New Orleans 02:11:52
2011 2 The Triathlon at Pacific Grove  United States Pacific Grove 02:06:13
2011 3 5150 Washington  United States Washington, D.C.
2011 3 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon  United States San Francisco 02:19:21 After birth of first baby [11]
2009 1 Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens  United States Washington 03:56:36 [12]
2009 3 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon  United States San Francisco 02:24:00
2008 3 Ironman 70.3 World Championship  United States Clearwater 04:07:32 New swim record - 00:23:03 [13]
2007 1 Wildflower Triathlon  United States Lake San Antonio 04:35:19
2007 3 Ironman 70.3 California  United States Oceanside
2007 1 USA Long Distance Triathlon National Championships  United States U.S. Championships
2006 1 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon  United States San Francisco 02:21:05
2006 24 ITU Triathlon World Championships  Switzerland Lausanne 02:08:00
2006 1 Vineman Ironman 70.3  United States Sonoma County 04:29:10
2005 34 ITU Triathlon World Championships  Japan Gamagori 02:05:24
2005 1 USA Triathlon National Championships  United States Bellingham 02:07:55 National Champion
2003 15 ITU Triathlon World Championships  New Zealand Queenstown 02:10:27
2003 2 Wildflower Triathlon  United States Lake San Antonio
2003 3 USA Triathlon National Championships  United States San Francisco U.S. Championships
2002 2 Wildflower Triathlon  United States Lake San Antonio
2001 2 Wildflower Triathlon  United States Lake San Antonio

[14][15]

References

  1. ^ Triathlete.com (2009-05-26). "Wins And Losses: Becky Lavelle". Triathlete. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  2. ^ "1997 NCAA Woman of the Year," retrieved January 20, 2020. http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/events/awards/1997-ncaa-woman-year
  3. ^ "Becky Lavelle to Miss 2010 Season to Have a Baby," Triathlete Magazine May 2010, retrieved January 20, 2020. https://www.triathlete.com/2010/04/news/becky-lavelle-to-miss-2010-season-to-have-a-baby_9003
  4. ^ "Wins and Losses: Becky Lavelle," Triathlete Magazine, retrieved January 20, 2020. https://www.triathlete.com/2009/05/features/wins-and-losses-becky-lavelle_9006
  5. ^ "2008 Elite Athletes of the Year," USA Triathlon, March 17, 2008, retrieved January 16, 2020. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/News/Articles-and-Releases/2009/March/17/2008-Elite-Athletes-Of-The-Year
  6. ^ ""Becky Lavelle Named Lifetime Fitness Series Winner," tyr.com, retrieved January 20, 2020. https://www.tyr.com/news/becky-lavelle-named-life-time-fitness-series-winner/
  7. ^ Jenny's Light, Edina Magazine, April 2010 Issue, retrieved February February 23, 2020. https://edinamag.com/article/jenny-bankston/jennys-light
  8. ^ "Jenny's Light Run".
  9. ^ "Becky Lavelle: From Professional Triathlete to Arete Teammate", retrieved February 20, 2020, published October 16, 2017, https://runarete.com/2017/10/16/becky-lavelle/.
  10. ^ Becky Lavelle Athletic Results, retrieved February 25, 2020. https://www.athlinks.com/search/unclaimed?category=unclaimed&term=becky%20lavelle
  11. ^ "Athlinks".
  12. ^ "Gambles and Lavelle Take Lake Stevens," Triathlon News, August 2009, retrieved January 21, 2020. Gambles and Lavelle take Lake Stevens 70.3 Archived 2016-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Wikipedia Ironman 70.3 entry and results, retrieved January 21, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_70.3
  14. ^ "Americans Matt Reed and Becky Lavelle Win 26th Annual Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Sunday June 4th," retrieved February 24, 2020. Triathlon Winners. https://www.triathlon.org/athletes/results/5473
  15. ^ https://d1szehk1wt93uf.cloudfront.net/MediaPress/AEFAT_Winners_Release.pdf?mtime=20150325090817 [bare URL PDF]
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