Tri Coach Tuesday: Kathy Alfino Inducted to Hall of Fame

Kathy Alfino, co-owner of Mile High Multisport LLC and was the head coach of the TriBella Women’s group in 2015. Kathy has been racing and coaching in the world of Triathlon for the past 30 years. But it didn’t start there. In the 1970’s she was involved in the, now historic, Title IX fight to allow women and girls in sports.
Having won the Colorado Sportswomen award three times, on March 13, 2016, Kathy was inducted to the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame. She joins other amazing Colorado women including Ellen Hart, Missy Franklin, Amy Van Dyken and Libby Hickman, just to name a few.
Sportswomen of Colorado bestows two awards each year. The first award is given to a deserving athlete, coach or someone who has had a significant impact on women’s sports in Colorado. The second award is given to an athlete who has excelled in their sport and overcome hurdles and/or served as an inspiration or mentor to others.
Several of Kathy’s athletes nominated her for this award. Here are some of the things they had to say.
Kathy is a four time Ironman World Championship Qualifier. In 2010, she took third place in her age group at Kona. Kathy made a comeback to racing in 2015 after taking several years off. During that time, she unwaveringly dedicated her time and emotional energy to taking care of her daughter, Lauren, who was diagnosed with Lymphoma at age 17. In 2015, Kathy took second place at Boulder 70.3 losing to Ellen Hart who is a Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame inductee. This past year, Kathy won her age group at The Toughman Half Ironman and also won her age group at Ironman Maryland. This age group win in Maryland was by more than 20 minutes. Kathy was also the 20th women overall and 167th out of 1425 total athletes. She set a course record and her time could have placed her in the top five athletes of every age group except one. These are tremendous accomplishments. I have never met someone as mentally tough as Kathy Alfino. Kathy continues to compete despite stepping on a broken beer bottle exiting the swim portion of a race over 30 years ago. Doctors told her at the time that she would never run again. They were wrong. She does not feel her right foot when it strikes the ground. But, Kathy continues to dominate races in her age group regardless. – Courtney Culligan
It is important to acknowledge Kathy’s selflessness and aspiration to see others do well. This is what makes her a desired coach in the sport. There are few coaches that I have come across that are able to race and coach simultaneously, much less on the same day as their athletes. Kathy’s passion not only for the sport but also for her athlete’s success is noteworthy. She coached four other athletes at Ironman Maryland, three of whom also placed in their age groups and the fourth placing in the top 10 in her age group at her first Ironman. – Sarah Warfield
It’s clear that Kathy’s athletes, friends and family think very highly of her and are super proud to have her influence in their lives.
Certainly the icing on the cake is the acknowledgement from her peers.
Congratulations Kathy!