In Memory of Steve Larsen

Written by: Dan Empfield
Date: Wed May 20 2009

Excerpted from Slowtwitch.com

Steve Larsen died yesterday of an apparent heart attack at the age of 39. One of cycling's strong men, the former world class road racer, mountain bike racer, and triathlete collapsed during a foot running workout on the track in his adopted home of Bend, Oregon. Despite immediate attention medical professionals were unable to resuscitate him.

Larsen leaves a wife, Carrie, and five children. He was held in high regard both by athletes and those in the industry. But it was his athletic abilities across a variety of disciplines that enthused and amazed his fans.

Larsen was a member of the legendary Motorola professional road cycling team and, during his road racing tenure, became a national road champion. He was a dominant force in mountain bike racing during the decade of the 90s. After a disappointing crash cost him a sure spot on the 2000 Olympic mountain bike squad, he dabbled his toe in the waters of triathlon, and that "dabble" made quite a splash.

He sped to the front of the pack on the bike at the 2001 Wildflower long course event, and held on to finish fourth overall on the day. He followed that performance with a win at Ironman Lake Placid, and a top-10 finish at the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship. It was a remarkable first year.

Please read the entire article to learn more about this amazing athlete and father of 5. Steve's dedication to his family and his sport, will live on forever. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who knew him personally.


OSN: 400m warm-up, 12 x 25m fly drill, 3 rounds of 4 x 75m stroke and 4 x 25m free descending; 1600m total.