This article originally appeared on Outside
Earlier this week, reporter Christina Cauterucci published at Slate this story about Arizona Senator and avid triathlete Kyrsten Sinema, who was selling her triathlon gear on Facebook Marketplace, leading to rumors that she is planning to switch sports.
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced Friday that she is leaving the sport of triathlon and becoming an independent athlete, unsettling the already divided endurance sports world.
“I join the growing number of Americans who are reluctant to buy into a particular sporting identity insofar as that identity no longer directly benefits me and it becomes more advantageous to relinquish it,” Sinema said in a written statement, also adding to the Expressing that she would happily register again as a triathlete if given the chance to compete in Kona.
The announcement was accompanied by numerous posts on Facebook Marketplace, including a bike seta $80 cycling jerseya $500 bike travel caseand a $150 fitness tracker ring. (Can Oura rings detect rhetorical hyperbole?) While it’s unclear whether this move indicates Senator Sinema will focus more on the running or swimming elements of the sport, she did indicate that she would keep her appointments on various cycling committees and this fully intends to continue to thwart any effort to achieve anything.
It’s unclear why anyone who wants to $175 for a used windbreaker would always vote against it Tax increases for the richest Americans. Perhaps the value of a windbreaker seems higher when unbroken gusts make it harder to keep patting yourself on the back.
The move has upset dozens of Arizona triathletes, including some who have taken time to break away from busy training and recovery schedules and buying expensive if impractical products online, to volunteer for their 2018 campaign .
“You can’t change your sport affiliation just like that,” says Elizabeth Grimes, a longtime registered triathlete in Arizona. “This is insulting to the thousands of triathletes who have supported them in good faith.”
The story goes on
A cursory look at her Strava profile (and voting log) reveals a tense story. Two years before a tough reelection bid, Sinema also listed a new bike saddle ($85). brand new cycling skinsuit ($215). There is no bike seat that can fix the saddle sore Sinema for the triathlete agenda. while she repeated stalled attempts to pass anti-inflation legislation, it is at least a small consolation to know that her perineum is also feeling the pain of runaway inflation. She may not be protecting the right to vote, but she will always put protecting her own butt first, so this move comes as a surprise.
Behind closed doors, even Joe Manchin wants to be distanced from her. “I’m from West Virginia, so nobody expects me to be a triathlete. Coming from a state that consistently supports triathletes, what’s your excuse?!”
One triathlete, speaking on condition of anonymity, described her as difficult and contradictory, who “is just in it for the praise” and has openly identified as a “trail runner” in tri-circles for some time. Sinema’s decision sparked a swift backlash across the Tri-world.
“Today Kyrsten Sinema told us what we’ve known for years: she’s not a triathlete and she’s simply looking for the endurance sport that is most beneficial to her brand right now,” said one triathlete. “Besides, she draws.”
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