Jeremy Rielley, physical education teacher at Dawes and Orrington schools and winner of the Chicago Triathlon for the past two years, has been named My Chicago Athlete Magazine 2016 Athlete of the Year.
The magazine named Mr. Rielley Athlete of the Month for November/December, earning him a spot in the running for top honors. Voting took place through January. “This award really serves as a ‘thank you’ to my family, colleagues, students, and friends for their overwhelming support over the years and throughout my training and racing,” said Mr. Rielley. “I wanted to win this award for all of them.” The Athlete of the Year Award was announced in the March/April issue of the magazine.
Last August, Mr. Rielley repeated his first-place finish in the International Race of the Transamerica Chicago Triathlon. For the second consecutive year, he outpaced the competition with a finish time of 2:00:39. He also shaved several seconds off his 2015 finish time of 2:00:57, which had earned him the top spot in the previous year’s competition.
The Transamerica Chicago Triathlon is considered the ultimate urban triathlon experience, and last year’s event hosted nearly 7,000 athletes from around the world. In just under two hours, Mr. Rielley finished the International/Olympic distance course consisting of a .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike, and a 6.2-mile run, for a journey through Chi-town totaling 31.93 miles.