Hunter Craig Kemper (born May 4, 1976) is a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He won the silver medal at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

, behind Venezuela's Gilberto González, followed by winning gold four years later at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

. Kemper was on four U.S. Olympic teams as a triathlete, competing at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.

College

He attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he was a 4-year member of the Men's Cross Country and Track & Field teams. Kemper graduated in 1998 with a degree in Business Administration.

Triathlete career

Kemper competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He took seventeenth place with a total time of 1:50:05.56. Four years later, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Kemper competed again. He moved up to ninth place with a time of 1:52:46.33 on the more rigorous course. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, he finished in seventh place with a time of 1:49:48.75. At the ITU San Diego Triathlon in 2012, he placed fifth with a time of 1:49:18 qualifying him for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for the USA Olympic team. He placed fourteenth in those games to lead the U.S. triathlon team. Kemper is one of only two American male triathletes ever to be ranked world #1 by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) (American Mark Fretta also held the world #1 rank for 4 months in 2006). In July 2006, he won the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, MN, winning what was at the time the largest purse in professional triathlon competition.

References

Profile
1976 births Living people American male triathletes Triathletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics American people of German descent Lake Brantley High School alumni Wake Forest University alumni Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Olympic triathletes for the United States Triathletes at the 1999 Pan American Games Triathletes at the 2003 Pan American Games Triathletes at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in triathlon Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in triathlon 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-triathlon-bio-stub