Rebecca "Becky" Lavelle (née Gibbs, born December 5, 1974) is an American former professional triathlete, race director, competitive runner, and coach. As a professional triathlete, she has had over 50 career wins in Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races.[1]

Becky Lavelle
Born
Rebecca Gibbs

(1974-12-05) December 5, 1974 (age 49)
EducationB.Sc. Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, summa cum laude
Occupations
  • Former Professional Triathlete
  • 2008 Olympic Alternate
  • Race Director
  • Competitive Runner
  • Coach
Years active2004–present
Spouse
Brian Lavelle
(m. 2002)

Early life edit

Lavelle began competing athletically from a young age. She started swimming competitively in Minnesota when she was nine and continued throughout high school.

At the age of 12, Lavelle was named best swimmer of her age group in Minnesota, a title she maintained for seven years. In 1993, during her senior year of high school, she was named (overall) Female Swimmer of the Year for Minnesota.

Lavelle went on to swim competitively at Louisiana State University (LSU) in college, where she became a ten-time NCAA All-American swimmer. In1997, she was named NCAA state-level "Woman of the Year" (Louisiana).[2]

In 1998 Lavelle graduated summa cum laude with a B.Sc. in kinesiology.

Triathlon career highlights edit

  • 2003: Pan Am Games bronze medalist
  • 2005: winner US National Championships and Chicago Triathlon[3]
  • 2005: named "Comeback Athlete of the Year" by Triathlete Magazine
  • 2006 and 2008: named Multi-sport Athlete of the Year by USA Triathlon[4]
  • 2007: winner of US Long Distance Triathlon National Championships
  • 2008: named the Overall Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series winner[5]
  • 2012: winner of Rev3 Florida Half-Ironman in Venice, FL

Philanthropy edit

In 2008, Lavelle co-founded the non-profit organization Jenny's Light in honor of her late sister Jenny and her sister's infant son, Graham. The mission of Jenny's Light was to improve and save lives by raising awareness of perinatal mood disorders, including postpartum depression. Jenny's Light Run events were held annually in Los Gatos, CA until 2022 in order to raise funds for organizations working on the issue.[6][7]

Running after triathlon edit

Following her official retirement from triathlon, Lavelle began running with Arete, a women's running club based in Santa Cruz, CA.[8]

Master's running personal records edit

2017 Marathon California International Marathon (CIM)   United States Sacramento, CA 02:56:50 Marathon debut
2019 Half-Marathon Monterey Bay Half-Marathon   United States Monterey, CA 01:24:00
2017 10K She Is Beautiful   United States Santa Cruz, CA 00:37:49
2018 5K Silicon Valley Turkey Trot   United States San Jose, CA 00:18:30

[9]

Notable triathlon accomplishments edit

Year Place Competition Location Time Comment
2012 1 Rev3 Florida Half-Ironman   United States Venice, FL 03:54:00 Win & last career race as a pro
2012 1 5150 New Orleans   United States New Orleans 02:11:52
2011 2 The Triathlon at Pacific Grove   United States Pacific Grove 02:06:13
2011 3 5150 Washington   United States Washington, D.C.
2011 3 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon   United States San Francisco 02:19:21 After birth of first baby [10]
2009 1 Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens   United States Washington 03:56:36 [11]
2009 3 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon   United States San Francisco 02:24:00
2008 3 Ironman 70.3 World Championship   United States Clearwater 04:07:32 New swim record - 00:23:03 [12]
2007 1 Wildflower Triathlon   United States Lake San Antonio 04:35:19
2007 3 Ironman 70.3 California   United States Oceanside
2007 1 USA Long Distance Triathlon National Championships   United States U.S. Championships
2006 1 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon   United States San Francisco 02:21:05
2006 24 ITU Triathlon World Championships   Switzerland Lausanne 02:08:00
2006 1 Vineman Ironman 70.3   United States Sonoma County 04:29:10
2005 34 ITU Triathlon World Championships   Japan Gamagori 02:05:24
2005 1 USA Triathlon National Championships   United States Bellingham 02:07:55 National Champion
2003 15 ITU Triathlon World Championships   New Zealand Queenstown 02:10:27
2003 2 Wildflower Triathlon   United States Lake San Antonio
2003 3 USA Triathlon National Championships   United States San Francisco U.S. Championships
2002 2 Wildflower Triathlon   United States Lake San Antonio
2001 2 Wildflower Triathlon   United States Lake San Antonio

[13][14]

References edit

  1. ^ Triathlete.com (2009-05-26). "Wins And Losses: Becky Lavelle". Triathlete. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  2. ^ "1997 NCAA Woman of the Year," retrieved January 20, 2020. http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/events/awards/1997-ncaa-woman-year
  3. ^ "Wins and Losses: Becky Lavelle," Triathlete Magazine, retrieved January 20, 2020. https://www.triathlete.com/2009/05/features/wins-and-losses-becky-lavelle_9006
  4. ^ "2008 Elite Athletes of the Year," USA Triathlon, March 17, 2008, retrieved January 16, 2020. [1]
  5. ^ ""Becky Lavelle Named Lifetime Fitness Series Winner," tyr.com, retrieved January 20, 2020. https://www.tyr.com/news/becky-lavelle-named-life-time-fitness-series-winner/
  6. ^ Jenny's Light, Edina Magazine, April 2010 Issue, retrieved February February 23, 2020. https://edinamag.com/jennys-light/
  7. ^ "Jenny's Light Run".
  8. ^ "Becky Lavelle: From Professional Triathlete to Arete Teammate", retrieved February 20, 2020, published October 16, 2017, https://runarete.com/2017/10/16/becky-lavelle/.
  9. ^ Becky Lavelle Athletic Results, retrieved February 25, 2020. https://www.athlinks.com/search/unclaimed?category=unclaimed&term=becky%20lavelle
  10. ^ "Athlinks". www.athlinks.com. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Gambles and Lavelle Take Lake Stevens," Triathlon News, August 2009, retrieved January 21, 2020. Gambles and Lavelle take Lake Stevens 70.3 Archived 2016-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Wikipedia Ironman 70.3 entry and results, retrieved January 21, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_70.3
  13. ^ "Americans Matt Reed and Becky Lavelle Win 26th Annual Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Sunday June 4th," retrieved February 24, 2020. Triathlon Winners. https://www.triathlon.org/athletes/results/5473
  14. ^ AEFAT Winners Release June 4, 2006

External links edit