Rachel Zilinskas didn’t know she wanted a second chance at an athletic career. But after a torn rotator cuff derailed her Olympic dreams, the former All-American swimmer felt lost upon leaving the University of Georgia. That’s when Zilinskas discovered triathlon training as a way to exercise that was healthy both physically and mentally.
“Ironman gave me a way to have new goals to work toward,” Zilinskas said. “That was really constructive for me: new challenges to battle, both physical and mental.”
As Zilinskas progressed from 5k runs, half-marathons, and marathons to her first triathlon race in 2018, she rekindled her competitive fire. She began training with coach Andrew Yoder, a professional triathlete from the same Pennsylvania town as Bulldog teammate and close friend Emily Cameron. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Zilinskas made massive improvements. In April’s Ironman Texas, her second race as a professional, she turned heads with a fourth-place finish, just one spot short of qualifying for October’s Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
“I’m starting to take my career a lot more seriously,” said Zilinskas, who says she now trains 20-23 hours per week. “Starting to look at myself as a competitive, professional triathlete has been a mental journey for me as well. I’m just trying to build that confidence saying that I really do belong here and that I have big goals and it’s okay to be pursuing them and believe in myself for that.”
“It’s not necessarily something that I had envisioned in my head for 20-plus years, but as I’m gaining more traction in this sport, my dreams and goals have been getting bigger and bigger,” she added. “That desire and that motivation for a high-level career is just burning stronger, so it’s really exciting for me. It’s great because I have such a perspective of gratitude feeling like it’s a bonus, or a second chance, for me.”
The flexibility that Zilinskas exhibited in her athletic transition is also evident in her race strategy. She attacks triathlons with a numbers-based approach to triathlons that befits the recently-hired remote biostatistician. But metrics can’t account for everything that can go wrong during a nine-hour trek that consists of 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles cycling, and 26.2 miles running.
“As analytical and organized as I am, there needs to be some flexibility in racing, especially when you’re racing an Ironman,” Zilinskas said. “I think the methodical approach helps me have confidence on race day that I’ve done all the right things, that the work has been done. Then when race day comes, I have expectations for what kind of power output I can hold on the bike or what kind of pace I can hold on the run, but also knowing how and when to adapt when those inevitable things do go wrong.”
Her recent showing at Ironman Texas was a prime example of her adaptability. Zilinskas started off strong, exiting the water just a few seconds behind former University of Nebraska All-American swimmer Lauren Brandon. By the time Zilinskas got off her bike to begin her marathon, however, she “felt absolutely terrible.”
“I was really proud of myself because I just did exactly what I should do in that situation, which is just readjust my mindset and say, ‘Okay, if I can’t hit this goal pace, what can I do?’” Zilinskas recalled. “And take it one kilometer, one mile, one step at a time and just fight through and just try to keep going for as long as I possibly can.
“I was actually able to hang on and overtake someone and end up in fourth place, which was my highest finish so far,” she added. “So I was really proud of that, for putting my name out there and getting a well-respected finish in an Ironman. But also more so proud of the mental and physical fortitude that I even showed to finish the race.”
The placement earned Zilinskas $5,000 in addition to points toward Professional Triathlete Organisation rankings. It’s an incredible feat for someone who thought their athletic career was over after placing sixth in the mile and eighth in the 500 free on one good arm at the 2015 NCAA Championships. But she’s still got more left to prove.
Zilinskas raced a half Ironman “tune-up” on Sunday in Maryland ahead of her next full Ironman in Lake Placid, New York, on July 24. It could be her last chance to qualify for this year’s World Championship, but the 27-year-old will have plenty more opportunities to achieve her goal if she can’t reach the podium next month.
“She’s only two years in,” said Cameron, who has known Zilinskas since she was 12 as a fellow Pennsylvania swimmer before they bonded in Athens. “The world of triathlon is at her fingertips. She’s one of, if not the hardest worker and the most regimented human being that I know. If she wants something, she’s going to get it. So I think if she wants to excel in this arena and it brings her joy in the process, Ironman better watch out.
“She went through multiple surgeries while we were in school, and she always managed to come back and contribute to the team in a support role and a swimming role, as well. It was really incredible to see her patience through that process because most people usually give up, throw in the towel, and just support from afar nowadays. But Rach didn’t give up, and she’s never going to give up. That’s why I think triathlon is, again, right at her fingertips and she will excel, for sure.”
Anybody remember Georgia’s Gold Medal Triathlete???
Emily Cameron