Fort Worth Medical Student Competes in 2022 World Triathlon Winter Championships

FORT WORTH– Midway through his first year of medical school, William Naworski was knee deep in studies…and snow.

The TCU School of Medicine student competed for Team USA in the 2022 World Triathlon Winter Duathlon Championships in Europe.

“Competing in the World Championships this year was a humbling and incredible experience,” Naworski said.  “I had never been to Europe prior to this race so I was absolutely stoked to have the opportunity to represent Team USA on my first trip to there.”

On February 6, the small European country of Andorra was the site for the 24^th Winter triathlon games. Five sets of age-grouped athletes competed for Team USA and won silver and bronze medals.

Last year, Naworski competed in the Winter Triathlon National Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, and qualified to be a part of Team USA’s triathlon team in this year’s world championship games.

“A good friend of mine asked me to compete last year and I knew this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and open the door for more opportunities to race in the future and I qualified,”  Naworski said.

Keeping his mind focused on his rigorous studies in medical school this past year, while training for the world championship games was not too difficult for Naworski who just turned 26. He combined his training schedule with his class and study schedules.

For example, Wednesdays were packed in course work and clinical sessions so that typically became his day off from training. The other six days out of the week he trained in the early morning or late nights.

“Starting medical school a bit older than most has certainly helped because I’m able to easily focus on my goals and buckle down,” Naworski said. “The race actually fell on a weekend before one of our exams which was my biggest concern.”

The winter triathlon puts athletes through a course consisting of a four-lap 5.4-kilometer run, three-lap 9-kilometer bike and three-lap 9.3-kilometer ski.

In preparation for the race, Naworski ran and road his spin bike nearly every day. During his 4-5 mile runs, he focused on increasing his running speed so that his pace was consistently around 7 minutes per mile. He interspersed that with speed work on his bike.

The only training he couldn’t compensate for was skiing given the warm North Texas temperatures.

“Practicing skiing isn’t possible in Texas but general strength and endurance training lend well to performing on cross-country skis,” Naworski said.

In the men’s 25-29 age group, Naworski finished in fourth place crossing the finish line in 2:24:58. His teammate William Head of Fort Richardson, Alaska, was able to finish just before Naworski in third place with a time of 2:11:46 and claim the bronze medal for Team USA.

Sheri Schrock of Cohasset, Minnesota, finished second in the women’s 65-69 age group category with a time of 3:02:31 to capture a silver medal for Team USA.

“Despite the long travel hours and lack of sleep, I managed to perform well both in the race and on the exam,” Naworski said. “Overall, I am happy with our performance.”

Competing in triathlons has also impacted Naworski’s perspective of practicing medicine. His rigorous training regimen has made him made him aware of the important aspects of preventative care and medicine.

“I am a strong believer in preventative medicine and the practice of longevity,” Naworski said. “Competing in these events has helped me to gain a better understanding of the human health span and the time we spend free from illness and injury.”