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Bio
Carole Marie Sharpless, the first of identical twin
girls, was born on September 1st, 1971, in Laurel, Maryland
to Joe and Nancy Sharpless....
Although both twins were extremely sick at birth,
sadly Carole's sister Kristen did not survive. Right from the start it was
clear that Carole was going to be a fighter, and a survivor.
Growing up an only child, her parents enrolled her in
virtually every type of class or course they could find hoping she would
discover something she liked. She tried ice skating, soccer, gymnastics,
art classes, music classes, horseback riding etc. etc. etc., until finally
by the age of 8, she seemed to be a stand out in swimming. Although she was
a hyper kid, the endless laps seemed to help diffuse the enormous ball of
energy her parents had to deal with.
By the time Carole was 14,
she had qualified for
Nationals in swimming,and
was a state and regional
champion. Then everything
in her young world suddenly
changed ................
Barely a freshman in high school she finally went to
see an orthopedic surgeon due to the chronic pain in her right shoulder.
Her
doctor diagnosed a tear in
her rotator cuff.
Carole and three time
swimming
Olympic gold
medalist
Tracy Caulkins
During that same time, what was much more important,
her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and tragically died a year
later.
Her life would never be the same.
Carole's high school years were predominantly empty
ones as she tried to fill the huge void in her house, and in her life. She
found that there were bigger things to take care of and somehow she just
never made it back to the pool. In her first semester of college she tried
to get back into swimming, but by then she had been out of the pool for
almost 4 years (dog years to a swimmer). She was fat and miserably out of
shape .... and her heart was gone. She officially retired from swimming and
took up Dorito eating and watching soap operas.
Almost a decade later she was living in Southern
California, still sedate, still fat, and still seemingly without
purpose. One day she put on a jumbo pair of jeans that had always been
baggy AND THEY DIDN'T FIT!!!! She was horrified and didn't know what else
to do but head back to the pool.
Carole joined a Masters Swim Team in Santa Monica, CA
(SCAQ), which remains the greatest masters program she has ever known.
Although she didn't realize it at the time, this was going to be the
beginning of the path to her future.
Almost immediately she made friends on the team, one
of whom (John Jericiau) was a triathlete and had done the Hawaii Ironman 2
times, and he was training for his third.
WHAT???? was an Ironman??!
Though Carole would tease John about his “triathlon
addiction”... secretly she was inspired by his drive and was deeply
envious he had something about which he felt such passion. John became one
of Carole's dearest friends and soon enough her triathlon mentor.
In the summer of 1996, John invited her to do a sprint
triathlon "for fun". Although she only had a rusty hybrid bike with pedal
brakes and a basket, and she didn't have running shoes, she decided to do it
anyway. NATURALLY SHE LOVED IT!! Deep inside her something came alive
again during that race. As she pedaled and ran through the pain, the sweat
running down her face made her feel alive.
It was that tiny piece of her soul that had been
dormant for years that seemed to be calling out to her spirit of survival
saying, "You can do this, Carole. Don't you give up. Just keep going."
Carole saw that race as a metaphor for her life. She
had been sedate long enough ..... Now, she just needed to keep going
............
It is hard to believe it has been a decade since that
first triathlon. Since then, Carole has climbed her way through the ranks
of the sport and is now living her dream as a Professional Triathlete. Who
knew?!
Like all athletes, some races have gone well and some
have not – but you’d not be able to distinguish the two by looking at her at
them. She is known for her smile and “rebound ability” from a bad race. To
her, it is all about perspective and she has plenty of that. Carole is
known not only as one of the nicest, most approachable athletes on the pro
circuit, but also one of the funniest. Her silly, comical antics and
sayings make her a favorite among fans and athletes alike.
Carole’s life now is inspired by the people she meets
every day along the way. It is the spirit of survival that is present at
every race in those same people; people of all ages and abilities, focused
on the same single purpose, "I can do this. Don't give up. Just keep
going".
Right on!
“If you’re going to dream – hell,
dream big and go for it!
Why not? I dream about pizza. That’s why I order
extra-large. If I’m going to do something, I’m going
to
do it right.”
- Carole Sharpless -
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