ABOUT
ME

My name is Michael Rourke, and I am a Playtri Level 3 and USA Triathlon Level 1 certified Triathlon coach.  I am a head high school swim coach, as well as a USA Swimming club coach.  My coaching career started when I was 17 years old as a summer league swimming assistant coach, and I began my head coaching career the next summer by taking over that summer league team.  I have been a head high school swim coach for 7 years, and I have coached over 15 high school All-Americans, as well as multiple Texas State champions.  I have coached Ironman 70.3 World Qualifiers and USAT Age Group Nationals Qualifiers.

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My passion for triathlon has been a work in progress, as I was a junior national level swimmer in high school, as well as a state level track athlete; I competed collegiately at Texas State University in San Marcos.

 

I graduated from Texas State University in 2014 with a double major in Mathematics and Kinesiology.  I graduated from Concordia University in Irvine in 2018 with my Masters in Coaching, Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology. Finally, I completed my Educational Administration certificate through Lamar University in March 2024.

 

In 2016, I competed in my first triathlon with my aunt.  It was part of her bucket list, and I wanted to be there to help support her throughout her challenge to herself.  Following that race, I found myself more and more competing in local 5k races and dabbling more into the sport of cycling.  In 2020, when pools shut down and I was quarantined at home, I took my cycling and running to the next level, with a goal of completing a 70.3 when races started back up.  At Lubbock 70.3 in June of 2021, I finished in a time of 4:30, and qualified for the World Championships.  As a head high school swim coach, I was unable to attend, but the fact of qualifying was enough to bring about such a huge passion for the sport.