YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint

The Wilmington Family Ymca Wrightsville Beach triathlon first held in 1979 was the brainchild of Karl Sutter, then a resident of the beach. Karl was competitive  by nature and had been college swimmer , then a few years after college had taken up running to get back in shape.  While running one day he sprained his ankle and turned to cycling as an outlet for fitness while his injury healed. When reading Sports Illustrated in the spring of ‘79 he noticed a small article about the first Ironman triathlon with it’s 12 participants that was held in Hawaii the prior fall. Karl approached the Wilmington YMCA which was under the direction of Jack Morris at the time, and a new event for the area was born. This triathlon named the Pepsi/Ymca Triathlon would become the first and longest running triathlon on the east coast of the US with its start of 99 participants that September, 1979.

Each summer as the mid September event draws near the triathletes come in droves to Wrightsville Beach each morning. On just about any morning as the sun begins to shine at the beach all sorts of friend/family groups hit the waters and pavement in and around W Bch to ready themselves for the fun of doing the race. For some this race has become an annual family tradition while others dabble in the swim, bike, and running event to see just what it is all about. All triathlons draw the serious athletes who are very fast and take the sport seriously. This race is an event for all types of people and the reasons for participation vary so wide one could write a book.