At first blush, it's easy to label Hunter Kemper as a typical pampered athlete who loathes the day he has to settle for a 9-to-5 job. It's easy to fall into the lifestyle of fame and fortune, isn't it?
Only Kemper doesn't quite fit the profile of that rich and famous stuff. It's easy for Kemper to mingle with the masses as an Olympic triathlete, although I suspect most folks haven't seen their face on a Wheaties box, nor say that they've competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics.
Kemper has crossed both of those things off his bucket list, although there are still a few goals within reach.
A five-time Olympian, perhaps?
"It would be a long shot, and to say it isn't wouldn't be right," Kemper said Sunday after winning the Sandpiper Bay Triathlon at Club Med on Sunday. "But for me the story would be the journey to get there; the process of competing in another Olympic Games and still trying to be the best in the country."
Exactly.
Kemper, now 36, has logged an unfathomable amount of miles by land and sea since competing in his first triathlon as a 10-year-old in Clermont. He's a hometown boy who has made good, graduating from Lake Brantley High School and then moving on to Wake Forest, graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 1998.
But professionally, Kemper has taken care of business away from the boardrooms and stuffy suits. Although triathlons aren't anywhere near the nation's sporty radar in terms of interest, Kemper has emerged as this country's greatest competitor in the event.
He has finished 17th, ninth, seventh and 14th (in London) since competing in his first Olympics in Sydney in 2000. Although he has been denied a spot on the podium, Kemper has the distinction of being the top American men's finisher in all four Olympic Games since the sport made its debut.
The fifth one remains iffy, as Kemper will be 40 going to the Summer Games that will be staged in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The natural wear and tear becomes more pronounced because Kemper hasn't completely recovered from an accident during an October 2011 race in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Kemper shattered his left elbow after he was hit by a lapped competitor in the transitional area where Kemper was pedaling on his bike. He suffered an open fracture, had to go into emergency surgery, and needed 13 screws and a plate to repair the damage. He contracted a staph infection, needed three surgeries in as many days to flush out the elbow, and was on antibiotics for six weeks.
"The recovery was just brutal," he said.
And it's still ongoing. He is still about five or six degrees short of being able to straighten out his left arm completely, and may need another surgery. The injury shouldn't have a significant impact on Kemper's career, but it's just another consideration while contemplating the long grind of another Olympic journey.
Kemper has measured that journey one race at a time, in increments of a 1,500-meter swim, a 43-kilometer bike ride, and 10-kilometer run.
It's also evolved from a solitary run to a family thing. Hunter and his wife Val now have three sons, Davis, 5, Hudson, 2, and 10-month-old Case.
They were all with him this weekend at Club Med. While Daddy competed, Davis was on the trapeze, enjoying one of the many activities the club has to offer.
It now becomes a balance of family obligations and professional ones. Who knows when and where it will all end.
But I suspect it will be on his terms. The 9-to-5 gig will have to wait awhile.
Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego or e-mail him at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com He is a regular contributor on the Joel Greenberg Show weekdays 4-6pm on 810 AM Yahoo! Sports Radio Orlando
