Kids are

pretty much indestructible. They seem to believe it and

when we watch them push themselves to the limit, only to

push themselves even further, we start to believe it too.

Making the

most recent convincing case is Peachtree City's Kirsten

Pretzer, a 9-year-old ironwoman in training.

Pretzer, a

fourth grader at Braelinn Elementary School, has been

named the junior girls champion of the Southeast Regional

Federation of USA Triathlon and has qualified to run in

the Ironkids Bread Triathlon National Championship race

in San Antonio, Texas.

She got

interested in the sport by watching her brother,

Kristopher, a seventh grader at Rising Starr Middle

School. Kristopher has been performing in triathlons

since the age of 7. He has placed fifth in the IronKids

Bread Triathlon National Championship race twice. Her

father also is a triathlete. Currently, she is training

with her father, Gary, who just completed a full Ironman

at Ironman USA Lake Placid in 12 hours, 11 minutes, and

55 seconds.

In 1999,

Kirsten has recorded four first place victories and one

second place finish. She won the Powerkids Duathlon, the

Peachtree City Youth Triathlon, the Ironkids Bread

Triathlon, and the Ironkids Splash/Dash. Her second place

finish came in the Auburn Sprint Triathalon.

The lengths

of the junior triathlons are shorter than the typical

distance of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a

run of 26.2 miles. Perhaps the most grueling for Pretzer

was the Auburn Sprint Triathlon, which involved a

200-meter swim, a 13-K bike ride, and a three-K run.

Pretzer has

been running for a year and a half and she loves the

three-sport discipline. At the various races that she and

her family attend, Pretzer has met a number of world

champions.

Her

favorite racer is Heather Fuhr, Ironman world champion,

whom she has personally met several times. Fuhr

continually gives support and encouragement to Pretzer.

With all of

the support from her family and from other Ironman

athletes, pretzer is well on her way to becoming a super

athlete. The Ironman event requires discipline as well as

talent. To add to her training for upcoming events,

Pretzer will be running cross country this fall.

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