Tommy Doubleday ’24 wins national triathlon
The former Virginia Tech Triathlon club officer placed first in the Long Course Triathlon National Championship in Daytona, Fla.

The stakes were high. It was a day when everything could have gone wrong, and many things did, but Tommy Doubleday didn’t let that stop him.
It was Dec. 8, and Doubleday, class of 2024 and former Virginia Tech Triathlon club officer, was competing in the 2024 USA Triathlon Long Course National Championships at Daytona International Speedway. He had spent the last few years preparing to start his professional triathlon career in 2025. Due to recent and unexpected criteria changes, he needed to win the race to secure the points necessary to apply for his elite license — the imperative next step in his professional journey.
The swim, Tommy’s strongest leg of the race, was cancelled 30 minutes before it was set to begin due to cold weather. In the bike leg, his weakest, the starting method was different from his previous races, and he found himself in a group going much faster than he was used to. As he pushed himself to keep up, his heart rate was higher than he and his coach had planned. He was overexerting himself. When he passed an aid station, he reached for a sports drink, but his fingers were too cold to close around the bottle and it slipped through his fingers.
As he entered the run, he knew he was low on electrolytes. He hit every aid station to compensate, and as he maintained his focus and stamina, he found himself near the front of the race. By the end of the second lap, he had run himself into first place. By mile 10 of 13.1, he could feel cramps coming on. Beneath the Daytona Speedway bleachers in the final stretch of the run, his hamstring locked up. He could see another runner catching up to him in the distance — finally, his hamstring relaxed enough for him to start running again.
“Push,” he told himself. “You have nothing to lose.”
As he neared the finish line, he could hear his friends cheering for him. Using all of his remaining energy, he broke through the tape at the finish line. He finished the race at 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 59 seconds.
“There were a lot of things I could’ve let kill that race, and I said no,” said Doubleday. “I trusted my fitness, my coach, and I knew my friends would be there. Everything fell into place.”

From competitor to professional contender
Doubleday, an Illinois native, didn’t start participating in triathlons until he joined Virginia Tech Triathlon. He had been a competitive swimmer from ages 8 to 18 and had run cross-country in middle school.
One day, his dad said to him, “You know, you can already do two of the three triathlon sports.”
The thought stuck with him, and when he came to Virginia Tech, he was ready to try something new.
Triathlon, one of 30 Sport Clubs that are advised and funded by Virginia Tech Recreational Sports, is a team of student-athletes that competes against other schools at the regional and national levels. The team is comprised of athletes of all skill levels who love to swim, bike, and run.
Joining Triathlon kick-started Doubleday's passion for the sport and introduced him to a team that would become his community.
He was especially inspired by an upperclassman, Kenny Culbertson, class of 2023. Culbertson was the fastest person on the team when Doubleday joined, and the two became close friends.
“As I progressed, Kenny pushed me to be better every day,” said Doubleday. “Even though we were great friends, he was the one I wanted to really try and compete against. Going into races, I said, ‘I want to chase Kenny today. I want to race Kenny. I want to work as hard as Kenny.’ He’s been a big motivator for me and continues to be.”
In his sophomore year, Doubleday became Triathlon’s vice president of apparel and travel. As an industrial design major, he took his role seriously. He designed professional-grade suits for the team to help them look and feel like a team.

Having fun and being good
Julie Rhoads, Assistant Director of Sport Clubs, said Doubleday helped facilitate a mindset shift in Triathlon.
“It’s been amazing to see how far the Triathlon Club and its officer board has progressed in recent years,” said Rhoads. “Tommy was part of the club’s leadership group that began its current trajectory.”
Doubleday and his fellow officers realized how much potential the team had, and wanted to see what they could accomplish with their full focus and energy.
“We all wanted to have fun, and we absolutely did, but we kind of pushed the notion that we can have fun and be good,” he said.
Together, they cultivated a culture that was empowering and supportive.
Matt Stelmokas, president of Virginia Tech Triathlon, said Doubleday’s commitment to his sport and his team was powerful.
“Tommy Doubleday is one of the hardest working and most dedicated athletes I’ve ever met,” said Stelmokas. “He showed up to every practice ready to throw down, regardless of how sore or tired we were. He showed a genuine interest in how each of his teammates was performing and was always willing to offer advice and help to new athletes.”
At the end of Doubleday’s junior year, he decided he wanted to go professional. The goal not only motivated him, it motivated and uplifted his team, as they saw what was possible with hard work and the support of their own community.

Expanding a legacy in Sport Clubs
Over the years, the team has continued to grow increasingly motivated about their sport, attracting new members with serious goals.
“We’ve built our reputation and worked hard for it,” said Doubleday. “We invested time and energy. We wanted to be good, and we knew that we could be. I pushed people hard, because I had people who pushed me to be better. I try to pay it forward.”
To this day, whenever he has doubts, his former teammates are there to pick him back up and help him stay focused. On the day of the national championships, his Triathlon friends, including Stelmokas, were the ones cheering him on from the bleachers.
“I wasn’t surprised at all when Tommy won,” said Stelmokas. “If you knew how much training he put in this year, you wouldn’t be either. ”
“Tommy’s win is what we want for every one of our sport club student-athletes,” said Rhoads. “We want them to find their passion and achieve their dreams, while understanding and navigating their life’s journey. The Sport Clubs Program is an opportunity for students to take risks and make mistakes, while advisors mentor and help them along the way.”
The Sport Clubs Program has approximately 1,500 student-athletes. It provides an outlet for students to be involved in student-led athletics while contributing to their holistic development by helping them learn transferable skills.
Doubleday’s win contributes to the program’s legacy of nine National Team Championships and two Individual Championships.
Doubleday designs and develops sports apparel for sporting goods company Boombah. Now, with his elite license in hand thanks to his national championship win, he is set to make his professional athletic debut at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in April 2025.