Carole Marie Sharpless, the first of identical twin girls, was born on September 1st, 1971, in Laurel, Maryland to Joe and Nancy Sharpless.

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 –