Athlete of the Week

At Yale, only 45 people (his cycling team and a few friends) know he's an Ironman. You'd think that as an Ironman, Robbie Berschinski, MC '02, would have some distinctive characteristic that would make his title apparent to all who see him. He doesn't. Nor does he talk about his achievements. Robbie doesn't need to tell the world that he came in as the second-fastest American in the under-21 category in the Ironman Triathalon over the summer, completing a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

ROBBIE BERSCHINSKI, MC '02 Cycling Hometown: Peachtree City, Ga. Major: Political Science Favorite food: Red beans and rice Favorite class: American National Security Policy Favorite weekend activity: Biking

Robbie is as humble about his successes as Yale is proud of turning 300. It's not easy to get him to talk about all he has achieved, because to mention the positions he holds and the athletic endeavors he has completed might make him sound cocky. Plus, it would make every one of us feel like a big, lazy couch potato.

Here are the Berschinski basics: he is a senior. He is a freshman counselor. He is the editor-in-chief of the YDN Insider's Guide to Colleges. He is on the club cycling team. He does ROTC. Before heading off to law school, he plans to spend four years as an armed forces intelligence officer. In summation, Robbie humbly and quietly puts all of us overachieving Yalies to shame.

However, if you ask Robbie what the best experience he has ever had is, he won't mention completing the Ironman, finishing two marathons, or getting through boot camp two summers ago. What he'll talk about is what he deems the best job in the world: being a freshman counselor.

Once forced to talk about the Ironman, Robbie gave only a few details. He competed in cross-country, track, and swimming in high school; he ran track at Yale for two years. He began training a year before the Ironman. Over the summer, he devoted a minimum of two hours per weekday and seven hours per day over the weekend training in the three disciplines. A typical Saturday would include a 100-mile bike ride and a 15-mile run.

Robbie didn't even mention the most remarkable part of his story until he was getting up to leave our interview. I asked him, "So Robbie, were you going to mention that you did the whole race with a fractured foot?" He answered, "Oh, I actually forgot to mention that. I guess that'd be good for your article, huh?"

It turns out that four weeks before the Ironman competition, Robbie fractured his foot and couldn't walk. He could swim and bike for hours, but he couldn't walk from the couch to the TV. In fact, the first time he ran on his fractured foot was during the marathon leg of the Ironman.

So, fractured foot and all, Robbie was one of the 2,000 people who registered for the race, 1,800 people who started it, and 1,500 people who actually became Ironmen. After 11 hours and 49 minutes of racing, he finished 580th. Imagine what he could do with two good feet.

—Katie Cole

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