What’s the Diehl?
A Farewell to Ryan Deihl !!!!!!!
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Many of you might not know this, but the
Pittsburgh Triathlon Club didn’t always have
the polish it has now. Before the clinics, the
race kits, the website, the Kona qualifiers, we
weren’t much of a club at all, but a small and
ragtag group of newer triathletes. A handful of
us, I, Ken Lambert, Kat Salerno, Jonathan
Swiderski, and Vito Rocco met on the Beginner
Triathlete forums and decided to get together.
The result was a series of weekend morning bike
rides which often started at “the deer” in
Allegheny Commons on the North Side. I still
smile when I think about how leisurely and
enjoyable those rides were, especially when I’m
in the middle of a five-hour ride.
A turning point for the club—it would be fair to
say the turning point—was meeting Ryan Diehl.
As soon as Ryan, with his Tony Little-like
enthusiasm, found our small group, he began
building what you see now: a the fastest growing
USAT-sanctioned club in the country.
In the early days, Ryan made the phone calls
and banged on the doors , forging the early
relationships, with sponsors and with local
athletes, that really started the ball rolling. And
this was all before he was officially elected
As president, he’s been equally tireless. He’s led, delegated, and motivated in a way that few
others could have. Ryan’s seemingly limitless energy, free time, and exclamation points, helped
to shape nearly every aspect of our club.
In Ryan’s very short triathlon career he’s had many ups and downs. Ok, lots and lots of downs.
His first race at the North Park tri started with a kick to the throat early in the swim—in hindsight
a harbinger of the many injuries he would suffer over the next two years—but of course he still
snagged second in his AG. Ryan has gone out of his way to make triathlon a contact sport. Be it
fork failure in the far reaches of Butler county or a landslide hitting his repair shop, Ryan has
become the Biblical Job of triathlon. Yet despite this, he has distinguished himself as a fearless
competitor. Who else could crash into a car, fall off of his bike after the crash and then spend the
entire bike leg of his first 70.3 throwing up all over himself and yet still manage to clinch a spot at
70.3 championships in Clearwater?
Having moved to Atlanta, it’s likely that Ryan will add severe dehydration and heat exhaustion to
his list of triathlon-related maladies. On the other hand, he might overhydrate and end up with
hyponatremia. We’ll all just have to wait and see.
Ryan has truly left more marks on the PTC than Pierce Mill Rd. has left on his legs. You’ll be
missed, Ryan!!!!!!!!
—David Cerniglia, Editor and Secretary