By Stephanie Starks | Staff Writer
Just weeks into his first semester, Riverside, California, freshman Aidan Christopher crossed a finish line almost 5,000 miles away from campus — and threw a Sic ’em to the crowd.
Christopher finished 13th in the 18-19 Open Age Group category at the 2026 World Triathlon Championship in Pontevedra, Spain, held Sept. 23-27. He completed the race in 3 hours, 6 minutes and 18 seconds, putting years of training in swimming, cycling and running to the test.
For Christopher, the opportunity to compete internationally went beyond an athletic accomplishment as it was a chance to share his Christian faith with others.
“I never imagined that I could get this far,” Christopher said. “I would not have gotten through without God. I have pushed myself to train so hard for God. I do it all for God so that I can be a light to others. I was grateful to share my faith in Spain.”
A triathlon consists of three consecutive events: swimming, cycling and running. Christopher began developing those skills in high school, competing in cross country and swimming while training independently on his bike.
“I would also train on the bike on my own since my high school did not offer that as a sports team,” Christopher said. “All of my determination and dedication came from the people who poured into me through high school. It would have been harder to train if I did not have a solid community cheering me on.”
Beyond the physical demands of each event, Christopher said athletes have to account for transition times between each section of the triathlon. Transitions can take about three to five minutes between events, according to Triathlete.
“Another component of triathlons that not a lot of people think about is the transitions between each event,” Christopher said. “In swimming, athletes need to wear a wetsuit. Participants have to learn how to peel it off while they are going to the biking area. Then they have to jump on a bike.”
Christopher’s mother, Summer Christopher, said her son developed a love for running around 10 or 11 years old. Although she and her husband had participated in the sport, they didn’t initially anticipate their son would pursue it.
“Me and his father did a few triathlons before, but we did not expect him to jump into wanting to run,” she said. “At some point, he thought he might want to compete in a triathlon, so Aidan chose to self-train for biking.”
His athletic journey has also included setbacks. Summer said Aidan suffered a leg injury that separated him from an activity that had become an important part of his life.
“One time he got a stress fracture on his leg,” Summer said. “Consequently, Aidan missed a season of cross country healing from his fracture. It was really hard on him mentally to be separated from moving his body.”
Outside athletics, Christopher’s faith has also influenced his career aspirations. He hopes to pursue audiology, a field focused on hearing and balance, after developing an interest in communicating with deaf or hard-of-hearing people.
“My hometown has a really big deaf community, and I wanted to learn American Sign Language to know them better,” Christopher said. “I want to use my talents that God has given me to share the gospel with the deaf and hard of hearing since only roughly 2% of deaf people have received the gospel.”
Summer said Aidan chose ASL as his foreign language in high school and quickly became interested in communicating with others through signing.
“[Aidan] has always been a kinesthetic learner,” Summer said. “He fell in love with the process [of moving his hands] to communicate with others. His teacher encouraged him to go and share his gift with others. Every time he saw someone speaking ASL, Aidan would practice.”
Now at Baylor, Christopher hopes to continue competing in triathlons while working toward an even greater endurance challenge.
“I am really excited to do more triathlons here at Baylor,” Christopher said. “I hope to be able to do a full-distance Ironman one day.”
