Monmouth College Magazine - Winter 2019

Page 36

SCOTSPORTS

TRIATHLETE INSPIRED BY HIS FATHER’S ‘VOICE’

By BARRY McNAMARA

G

eorge Van Hagen IV could hear the voice of his late

father as he competed on the Gold Coast of Australia. A member of Monmouth College’s Class of 1983, Van Hagen was an age-group competitor in the 2018 International Triathlon Union Triathlon Sprint World Championships, held in September in Southport, Australia. He said his father was with him every swim stroke, bike pedal and running step of the way. “Competing at Worlds was a conclusion in honoring my father,” said Van Hagen. “I certainly felt his presence. The race was more than a race to me. It was a commitment by a son to a father, fellow officer and my hero.” Van Hagen’s late father, George Van Hagen III, inspired him to follow in his footsteps and attend Monmouth College. The elder Van Hagen attended Monmouth’s Naval Flight Preparatory School during World War II. A direct descendant of U.S. president William Henry Harrison and a decorated World War II pilot, Van Hagen III died in 2015. The younger Van Hagen graduated from Monmouth after serving in the Navy and brief stints at Southern Illinois University and a Chicago-area community college. Now 63, he credits Monmouth for being “a place where I could get my foothold.” He competed for the Fighting Scots in cross country and swimming, but it wasn’t until about five years after he graduated that he “dabbled” in triathlons. Van Hagen’s interest in the sport took off a decade later. Now a physical therapist assistant at Great River Medical Center in West Burlington, Iowa, Van Hagen has broken new ground in training triathletes, conceptualizing

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Representing Team USA in the 60-64 age group, Van Hagen completes a 5-kilometer run—the third leg of the sprint triathlon at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, held in Australia in September.

and developing the first certified training center for USA Triathlon at Great River. A USA Triathlon-certified coach, he’s attended training at The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. His work with triathletes attracted his father’s interest.

“During that period, I coached an athlete who competed in the 2015 ITU Sprint Triathlon World Championships in Chicago,” said Van Hagen. “Ryan was an age group team member of Team USA, like I was in Australia. From his nursing home room (in Barrington, Ill.), my father loved to hear about every


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