Six-year-old Haddonfield resident Ari Crossey crossed the finish line at his second triathlon at the Erlton Swim Club in Cherry Hill on July 21.
While last year he was the youngest participant to finish, this year Crossey placed first as the event’s only contestant in the kids category. Crossey enjoyed racing by himself and compared it to racing in his own private triathlon.
The race constituted a 100-meter swim, 1.8-mile bike ride and a one-mile run. To practice, Crossey often biked four miles a day and took walks around the neighborhood while holding dumbbells.
“I like to set hard goals for myself and push myself to do them,” he said.
The youth continues to challenge himself on a regular basis. Swimming is the hardest and biking is the most fun, Crossey noted. His mom Gina shared a story from last year, when her son decided he wanted to try the triathlon. Although he didn’t have great form and was a weak swimmer, Crossey was determined, Gina recalled.
“We’d be in the pool, and he’d be like, ‘Today, I’m going to do 20 laps,’ and I said, ’20? You can barely do two. And he was like, ’20,'” she remembered. “And he would stay as long as it took to do 20 laps, with breaks in between.”
Ari Crossey swims, bikes and runs at the Erlton Swim Club’s kids’ triathlon on July 21.
When asked about future goals, Crossey said he hopes to continue doing triathlons and to beat his coaches and his dad at jujitsu in a few years. He also wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and finish an Ironman triathlon, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run, the length of a marathon.
When asked what advice they might have given their younger selves given what they’ve learned along the way, Crossey’s parents encouraged their son to just keep showing up.
“Even as a kid, you’re capable of a lot more than you think you are,” emphasized Michael Crossey. ” … So often, we want to be good at something right away, but if you have the ability to keep showing up, they always say that a black belt is a white belt that just kept showing up. And I think that the kids that can kind of do things consistently and not stop, will have a lot more success in the long run.”
“Don’t be afraid of failures or making mistakes or even coming in last,” Gina advised. “I think that’s something Ari already knows … One of the huge lessons that I think is really counterintuitive but that’s so important for growing in anything in life (is that) whether it be business or sports or personal, always be willing to have that humility in knowing that you have to improve, not being afraid of failing and knowing that’s a learning opportunity, and not something that you just failed at.”
Outside of swimming and biking, Crossey also participates in Christ the King Regional School’s track club – his mom is a coach – as an honorary member. He also wants to join the Erlton Swim Club’s swim team next year, though he’s uncertain about the daily meets required.
As for encouraging his future self, Crossey has two things to say: “Keep going, don’t give up,” and “Don’t stop, keep going.”
