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Jérôme started triathlon with SVTC NTTS in Jan 2017. Before that, he exercised to stay healthy, biked (with his 20 year old road bike), ran, hiked, surfed, skied, and snowboarded. He found a fantastic community with SVTC and got hooked. He competes in 5 to 6 races per year now.
2019 was a fantastic year for him as he qualified for Ironman 70.3 World Championship for the first time, and was able to compete in France, where he is from. At his first Ironman he placed 3rd in his age group! 2020 was a year to forget... He came back strong in 2021 races and qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona (which was postponed to 2022). He also qualified for the 70.3 IMWC again, this time held in St. George, Utah. 2022 was unique as he was able to compete in three world championship races: Ironman World Championships in St. George (May), Ironman World Championships in Kona (September), and the 70.3 World Championship in St. George (October).
SVTC gave him a lot, so he joined the board to give back to and support this great team so do not hesitate to bug him with any questions.
Jérôme works as a software engineer when he is not training for a triathlon. As a family, his wife and daughter enjoy being outdoors for scuba diving, paddle boarding, or hiking. They also love cooking and traveling for vacations or now racecations!
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Rick Schwartz
Vice President
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Rick competed in his first triathlon in 2013 after conquering a serious fear of open water. Since then he has completed over three dozen triathlons including two Ironman events. Rick previously served on our board as Coaching Director and Secretary. He is a passionate organizer of SVTC open water swims, course previews, training weekends, and the bike-run events now known as "Brick Madness." (Aka "Rick Madness")
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Ravi Viswanathan
Secretary
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Ravi joined SVTC after attending an open house to learn more about triathlons. His desire to finish a full Ironman race started over 15+ years ago whilst watching a TV highlight replay of the race in Kona, Hawaii. The challenge of doing something so hard sparked his interest in endurance sports. Over the next decade he started to enjoy running endurance run events with his wife. He has run 25 half marathons and 3 full marathons. Ravi enjoyed training for these endurance events and with the help of team SVTC competed in his first sprint triathlon in 2018. From having to start learning to swim in a pool to swimming in open water Ravi has completed 6+ half Ironmans, and a full Ironman over the years. Fulfilling his wish of an Ironman he has been venturing in the ultra trail running space lately.
He loves to train with the latest tech in town. Outside of triathlons and running he loves to cook (and eat), play cricket, tennis, table tennis and do fun activities with his kids.
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Theodore Deffenbaugh
Treasurer
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Theo and his wife Lauri did their first triathlon together in 1982, while running together at Seattle Pacific University, under the Olympic Coach Doris Brown Heritage. The couple enjoy training and racing with members of the SVTC team, and say they enjoy the friendships gained through the club. Theo unofficial title on group rides is "the flat fixer" because he is known to be able to switch out a tube in less than five minutes.
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Deirdre Hassett
Coaching Director
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Deirdre Hassett completed her first triathlon in 2005, in her home country of Ireland - since then she has competed in innumerable triathlons, duathlons and multisport events. She moved to California and joined SVTC in 2013, and has been an active club member since then, including coaching NTTS in 2018. Highlights of Deirdre's multisport career include multiple age group podiums at Ironman and Ironman 70.3 distances, second place AG at USA Duathlon Championships in 2017 and bronze at Long Course Duathlon World Championships in 2019.
Outside of triathlon, Deirdre is a program manager at a diabetes medical device startup and leads a fundraising team for the American Diabetes Association. The pandemic pushed Deirdre to explore new things that terrify her and she has added gravel bike racing to her skillset, as well as a return to marathon running in 2021.
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Amanda Clem
Social Director
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Amanda joined SVTC in December 2021 after ambitiously signing up for two half Ironmans and a full Ironman in one calendar year. This accomplishment led Amanda to being SVTC’s ‘Rookie of the Year 2022’. She fell in love with the sport and its people and continues to push herself with new races and goals. While triathlon is still new to Amanda, she has been running since 2007 and finds this to be her strongest discipline. As the Social Director, Amanda is excited about the upcoming year, anticipating the chance to bring athletes together for shared experiences, camaraderie, and mutual support.
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Arnaud Perrier
Sponsorship Director
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Arnaud was not much of a swimmer, had never been on a road bike, and hated running. That’s until he went to the SVTC open house in 2017 with friends and thought “hey this looks like fun maybe I could do that”. He enrolled in the NTTS program together with his wife Delphine, got his first ever road bike and clips, and finished 7th in AG at his first Sprint at Half Moon Bay Triathlon. From that day on, he was hooked! He finished his first IM 70.3 in Santa Cruz in 2018, and many Olympic and IM 70.3 races since then. In 2023 he qualified for the Ironman World Championship at the Hawaii IM 70.3 race, and finished his first ever full IM (and first marathon) three months later at the Ironman World Championship in Nice, France!
Arnaud loves the friendships and community the club brought him, and is happy to give some of his time and effort back to the club. When not busy working at his high tech job or training, Arnaud enjoys skiing, hiking, and boating with his family.
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Jaclyn Vance
Membership Director
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Jaclyn began triathlon in 2014, where she was looking for a way to stay fit after college. She completed her first triathlon at 70.3 Mont-Tremblant and instantly became hooked. Since then, she has completed 4 Ironmans, 8 half Ironmans, and 11 marathons. Last year, she took a break from endurance racing and had a beautiful boy.
Jaclyn worked as a travel nurse and has gotten to meet many triathlon clubs in her travels, which makes her well suited as a membership director.
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Venkatesh Ramanathan
Volunteer Director
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Venkatesh is a gentle soul especially when it comes to animals, still drives his first car from when he moved to the US 25 years ago, completed his first full IM just 2 years after learning to swim and bike, and has his heart set on competing in the Boston Marathon someday. Beware, don’t let his kind demeanor fool you, he’ll overtake you on the run!
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Katharina Tschirner
Communications Director
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Katharina joined the club as a runner and occasional cyclist in the summer of 2022 when she moved to the Bay Area. After completing her first marathon that year, she focused on building her swim skills in 2023 to become a triathlete. She crossed this goal off her bucket list by winning her age group in her very first triathlon. She enjoys the group workouts, community, and support within the club and looks forward to sharing all about SVTC on the club’s communication channels.
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