Support Ella's Journey to Worlds in Spain on Team USA

Hi! My name is Ella. I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. I graduated from Concord High School and then from Indiana University as a collegiate athlete with a biology degree to begin my journey to be a dentist. My college sport was rowing, and it taught me so much about myself and intensified my racing, competitive mindset and pushed me to push myself even further and showed me what I was capable of accomplishing. After the Big Ten Rowing Championship my senior year, I was not ready to be done being an athlete. I started swimming and doing other cross-training workouts, and quickly fell down the rabbit hole to triathlons. I can ride a bike, I can swim and run, so why not just learn to do it competitively all at once? I completed my first Sprint Triathlon in Arizona in November of 2022, and finished 10th, as the second female finisher. I asked myself, 'Did that just happen? Let’s see what happens if I do another one'. Long story short, I qualified for my age-group, for Nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a few months later, I received an email informing me that I qualified for Team USA to go to the Triathlon World Championship in Spain. Pinch me! Immediately I called my parents to let them know the big news!

Deciding to do this was easy. Yes! Of course I would love to represent the Red, White, and Blue; however, the road to get there is going to be the opposite of easy. Long hours of training, lap swims, early morning trips to the weight room before work, and hours on the bike after work. Luckily, I have found an amazing coach who’s helping create a workout regime around my two jobs and soon-to-be grad school schedule. I'm determined to do my part. But this road to Spain is not a cheap one. Team USA does not help athletes with cost, so that leaves; travel, accommodations, sports gear, food, bike equipment, and all race fees up to me. I am definitely going to need financial help to compete at this level. Any money that is donated is going to raise funds for the 4,310-mile airplane ride for me and my bike, the Team USA race kit, my equipment, my Team USA hotel stay in Spain, training, and allow me to focus on my physical and mental training without extra stress.

If someone had told me 5 years ago that # 1.) I would be a D1 collegiate athlete in rowing, a sport I started my freshman year, earn two bronze Big Ten medals, make All Big Ten 2nd Team by my junior and again my senior year, be selected team captain and # 2.) that after I graduated, I would pick up yet another entirely new and different sport and qualify as a WORLD athlete…I would have told you, you're crazy! But it takes one to know one - and one must be crazy to do triathlons, especially for fun - right??? Your support would mean the WORLD to me, and I'm truly honored and promise to represent the USA to the best of my ability!