Sarasota athlete headed to 2019 World Triathlon Championships

Every Wednesday morning, Justine "Tina" Goodman rides her bike across the John Ringling Causeway — and back — 10 times. 

Is it fun? No, Goodman said. But the 64-year-old does it, anyway. She’s headed to the 2019 World Triathlon Championships, held Aug. 30-Sept. 1 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and she’s determined to stand with the champions at the end of it. 

Goodman qualified for the championships thanks to her finish at the USA Triathlon Age Group Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championships, held at Nathan Benderson Park in October 2018. Goodman finished fifth in the women’s 60-64 group (1:22:22.9). That race was changed to a duathlon because of inclement conditions, but in Switzerland, she will be competing in the real thing: a half-mile swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. 

The 4-foot-11 (and three-quarters) Goodman is determined not to let her size be a disadvantage, despite people often telling her she looks too small on her bike. She didn’t start competing in triathlons until 1999, when a coworker suggested she try it. During her training, Goodman wore padded shorts in the pool. She nearly drowned when the pad holes filled with water, she said. She also didn’t know transition times counted, so during the race, she was “fixing her hair and lipstick” while other competitors zoomed past her. 

After that, she took races seriously, ramping up her practice schedule. Since finding out she qualified for the 2019 championships, Goodman has competed in eight triathlons. She medaled in all of them. 

“My initial thought was, ‘I’m just going to go and have fun,’” Goodman said. “A month later, I’m buying a new bike (from Liv Cycling). I have a triathlon coach. I figure if I’m going to go, I’m reaching the podium. I’m going all the way.”

Goodman’s triathlon coach, Kerry Simmons, has made a difference. Goodman was never formally trained — she learned to swim from her family’s teachings — so she knew her form could be improved. It has also helped her running. Goodman used to think she was a 10-minute mile runner, no more or less. Under Simmons’ tutelage, she has started running 5K races in 26 minutes. She has Simmons not just practice distances, but pace. The first mile will be nine minutes, the second at 8:45, and so on. 

“She’s an incredible coach, even when I say, ‘Help, I’m swimming and I’m breathing so hard and my heart is beating 100 miles a minute, what’s wrong with me?’” Goodman said. ‘She says, ‘Well, you’re going fast.’ ”

Another reason Goodman is determined to make the most of her chance? This is her only one. The trip will cost Goodman approximately $6,000, she said, an investment she doesn’t want to make again. She’ll also be at the bottom of her age group, which gives her the best chance to medal. 

And Goodman knows what she has to do: Start fast. As long as she is in front — where she won’t be kicked or hit in the face during the swim — and settles into a lead position, she will be good, she said. As a reward, Goodman and her fiancé, Mark Williamson, will be spending the days after the championships in Lake Como and Venice, Italy. 

“I’m going to eat and drink all the things I haven’t been able to have,” Goodman said.