Rick Schwartz, President
Rick competed in his first triathlon in 2008 after conquering a serious fear of open water. Since then he has completed over 40 triathlons including two Ironman events. Rick joined SVTC in 2012 and has served many years on our board as Coaching Director, Secretary, and Vice President. He is a passionate organizer of SVTC open water swims, practice tri's, training weekends, and our bike-run events known as "Brick Madness." (Aka "Rick Madness")
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Deirdre Hassett, Vice President
Deirdre 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 regurn to marathon running in 2021.
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Bryant Truong, Secretary
Bryant completed his first sprint triathlon in 2017 and later joined SVTC in 2018 realizing there was so much more to learn and grow. Bryant’s true passions are anything on a dirt trail or rock wall, but has found gratification by attending and assembling group workouts and seeing his friends suffer as much as he does. Bryant joined the board to grow and improve the community because it has given him so much over the years.
He has completed 5x 70.3 Ironman races and has a personal goal to complete one under 5 hours. When he’s not working out, he enjoys building and servicing bicycles, planning his next weekend adventure, and peer pressuring his friends to check out a “new, secret trail” he’s found.
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Helena Fabragas, Treasurer
After a long hiatus without doing any sports Helena started triathlon right at the beginning of Covid. While swimming felt like reuniting with an old friend, as she used to be a competitive swimmer for Spain, she quickly fell in love with cycling. As for running - that relationship is still a work in progress! Given her competeitive nature she started racing anything avaible nearby her: from olympics and 70.3s to Ironmans.What she values most about SVTC is the incredible community. Whether sharing long training sessions with fellow members or enjoying the social aspects of club life!
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Josh Hanley, Coaching Director
Josh has been a member of SVTC since 2022. Before triathlon he was a collegiate swimmer. The run is the most challenging part of triathlon and his best sport is the bike. He has made many friends in SVTC over the past three seasons. His advice to newbies is patience - it takes time to be successful, don't compare yourself to others. |
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Amanda Clem, Social Director
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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Tatiana Zander, Sponsorship Director
Tatiana thought only superheroes could so Ironmans, ever since watching a documentary as a kid. Fast forward, when Covid hit, she started taking on bigger challenges with a 600mi cycling fund raiser and her first half marathon. Seeing fast progress, she signed up to her first triathlon - Ironman California, 2021. Thanks to a massive storm, the race got cancelled, and delayed her first triathlon to Oceanside 70.3 and Ironman California in 2022 - where she befriended SVTC members and soon became an active member of the club and now is primarily known for her selfie skills. To date, she has completed 3 full Ironmans, incl. world champs, and a number of ultra trail races - always looking for scenic views and the next bucket list race!
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Kaitlyn Chan, Membership Director
Kaitlyn has done a grand total of 1 triathlon after joining SVTC in 2024, and intends to double that achievement in 2025! She felt very encouraged by the welcoming members of SVTC, and somehow wound up signing up for the 2025 SF Marathon as well. She hopes you give SVTC a shot, and looks forward to chatting with you on the weekend bike rides. |
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Venkatesh Ramanathan, Sponsorship Director
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 Ironman 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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Suzanne Loftus, Communications Director
Suzanne joined SVTC in 2011 and is now an "experienced" member who has completed various endurance events from relay swims across Lake Tahoe and century rides to competitive events like running races and triathlons of all distances. She is currently working to improve her nutrition and sleep and adding weights to her triathlon lifestyle. |
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