Meet New Kent’s nationally accomplished triathlete with Olympic dreams, 15-year-old Isaac Lamprecht – Richmond Times-Dispatch

Isaac Lamprecht may be following in the footsteps of his father, Brian.

Brian, however, is the one chasing 15-year-old Isaac in the duos athletic journey.

If I was doing it, he had to do it, and he had to do it better than me, said Brian Lamprecht, who has completed five Ironman Triathlons (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.22-mile run) as part of his own impressive record in ultra-endurance events.

Seeking to emulate his father, Isaac began competing in endurance competitions around age 12 and has always had a knack for one-upping his role model.

A sophomore at New Kent High School, the younger Lamprecht is a nationally accomplished triathlete who was ranked No. 7 in the country for his age group in 2021. Isaac has already competed at USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals and plans to do so again this summer.

He has a highly developed Dad-competition gene, said Brian, looking sideways at his son as the two sat in front of hundreds of medals Isaac has accumulated.

People are also reading

Born and raised in the New Kent area, Isaac has qualified for state competition seven times across the four different sports in which he competes for his high school cross country in the fall, swimming and indoor track in the winter, and outdoor track in the spring.

He has yet to fail to qualify for states in any of them, and this year he undertook a whirlwind of a Saturday to compete in the state swim meet at SwimRVA in Chesterfield County and at indoor track regionals at Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton on the same day.

On Feb. 19, Isaac swam in the preliminaries for the 500-meter freestyle at 10 a.m. and qualified for the finals around 5 p.m. In between, he and his father drove the hour and 20 minutes to Boo Williams, where Isaac ran both the 1,000 and 1,600 region finals, placing fourth (2:59.16) and second (4:48.87), respectively.

Then they hopped back in the car and ate some snacks, and Isaac took a nap during the ride before returning to SwimRVA for the 500 free final, in which he finished 16th with a 5:54.01.

It was pretty tiring, Isaac said with a wry smile, adding that hes blessed with coaches who allow him the flexibility to compete in multiple and often overlapping sports during an era in which specialization is the national trend in high school athletics.

That sort of juggling is something the Lamprechts are accustomed to at this juncture of Isaacs athletic pursuits. Brian only started running around age 40 upon getting involved in the Massey Challenge, an initiative for runners or walkers to raise money for the VCU Massey Cancer Center. Brians father was battling cancer at the time.

A 5K turned into a 10K, which evolved to a half-marathon. Before long, Brian was running marathons and Isaac was following in his footsteps. When Brian switched to triathlons, that became what Isaac wanted to do.

In Isaacs first 5K, he beat his dad by two minutes.

He may be following me, but Im chasing him, Brian said with a note of pride. I dont think Ive ever beat him in an actual race.

Isaac has to eat a lot of carbs and protein to keep up a rigorous training regimen. Its normal for him to swim, bike and run a matter of miles in a single day. Hell race in the East Coast Triathlon Festival on April 30 and May 1 in Glen Allen.

In September, he placed third at the Giant Acorn Triathlon in Spotsylvania, which qualified him for nationals in August. This winter, he raced at AAU indoor nationals and won the 3,000-meter run for the age 15-16 division with a time of 9:20.59.

At the USA Triathlon nationals this past summer, he crashed on his bike. With the crowd chanting get up, he recovered to finish 28th.

Isaac normally sets two goals for himself one thats ridiculous and seemingly out of reach, and another thats realistic in the short term.

He trains for the latter, but expects the former.

Set the bar high, but dont expect it high, Isaac said of the psychology behind his training mindset. If people arent laughing at your goals, they arent good goals.

Isaac trains with Henrico County-based Endorphin Fitness and credits much of his development to coach Michael Harlow. He is considering a number of colleges with triathlon programs, with Queens University of Charlotte currently his top choice.

But options for collegiate competition are limited, as most colleges such as Virginia, William & Mary and George Washington have only club programs.

He dreams of competing in the Olympics someday. But perhaps his biggest goal is to complete more Ironman competitions than his fathers five.

Always the benchmark, he wont be satisfied until he eclipses his fathers accomplishments. And the pair said it has taken a village of teachers and coaches willing to facilitate and nurture his passion to get this far.

All the amazing teachers and coaches that hes had, and the willingness to understand that hes passionate about something, giving him that flexibility, Brian said. I couldnt imagine doing this without the support of all those individuals that help accommodate the direction he wants to go.

ZJoachim@timesdispatch.com

(804) 649-6555

Twitter: @ZachJoachim

Read the rest here:

Meet New Kent's nationally accomplished triathlete with Olympic dreams, 15-year-old Isaac Lamprecht - Richmond Times-Dispatch