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The Wongstar is retiring
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My favorite pro Ironman athlete Jocelyn "Wongstar" Wong is retiring. Best wishes to her in this next phase of life!
http://www.thewongstar.com/...-not-about-knee.html
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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Just wanted to say "well done Jocelyn" in giving it a go.

But I am almost certain that sometime down the line when you are practicing as a physician in the normal world, the need for fitness, activity and perhaps travel will send you back to triathlon. Maybe not as a pro, but as an age grouper just spending time doing the sport to balance off a high pressure professional life!

Good luck!
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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I don't really know her at all. However, I did catch a thread that featured her writing about her "bike boxes" -- what a character.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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I guess the writing was on the wall.

I really enjoyed following her blog those two years that she was travelling around racing and training. Such an entertaining writer!
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [bluepoint] [ In reply to ]
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Being from Pacifica as well, I rooted for and followed the Wongstarr and after reading the blog, can understand why she retired. All pro's have to face this at some time or another. Good thing for most triathletes they have a career to fall back on. I hope for her the great performances were worth the years of low pay and struggle.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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Last edited by: DawgTown: Dec 8, 11 12:47
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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Frankly, I think she'll get over it and get back in the game. I think she was on the verge of a breakthrough. It would be cool to see her at REV3 South Carolina next year.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [Goosedog] [ In reply to ]
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She'll have WAY more fun killin' it as a retired AG athlete. Good decision, given the good job opportunities comin' her way.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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You all.... she 'hates' let me repeat that 'hates' swimming.... can't be a triathlete on any level if you 'hate' swimming.

thinks she's going for the olympic racing walking team... time will tell if she truly loves it...

only if you truly love something will you do it and keep it doing it, till you can't do it no more.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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Loved her entire vibe, not taking herself seriously. Our sport needs more like her!

------------------
My business-eBodyboarding.com
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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My favorite triathlete pro!!! Will miss her.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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One the top three smiles in all of triathlon! Love her smile! Love her attitude! Love her story! Sad to see it end. Best wishes!

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [TriBodyboarder] [ In reply to ]
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TriBodyboarder wrote:
Loved her entire vibe, not taking herself seriously. Our sport needs more like her!

This.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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I remember being passed by a female pro on the bike at around mile 70 or 80 at IMTX. That was strange since they started the swim ten minutes before us AG'ers. Not that I'm completely inept at triathlon but a female pro shouldn't be slumming with the likes of me. I assumed something had gone really wrong on the bike - like they had some major mechanical issues. I then realized it was Jocelyn and I probably had just outswum her by 15-20 minutes. :-)

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
Last edited by: GMAN19030: Dec 9, 11 5:30
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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Interesting perspective from an ST point of view ....."retiring" from a 'professional" career where she probably never earned anything of note ..... now moving to a medical career where she really will have a meaningful and fulfilling career and a real impact on peoples lives. Good for her ....and congratulations on a significant life step. Triathlon really isn't a profession at all .....

Dave
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [Paulo Sousa] [ In reply to ]
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Paulo, are you bumping this thread, or removing angry banter?
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [nickwhite] [ In reply to ]
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nickwhite wrote:
TriBodyboarder wrote:
Loved her entire vibe, not taking herself seriously. Our sport needs more like her!


This.

+1
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [dcsxtri10] [ In reply to ]
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dcsxtri10 wrote:
Triathlon really isn't a profession at all .....

Dave

I wonder if these folks would agree with you..
wellington, potts, alexander, wuertel, reed, sousa, kemper, rapp...and the list goes on.

"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz
Last edited by: stringcheese: Dec 9, 11 8:45
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [dcsxtri10] [ In reply to ]
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dcsxtri10 wrote:
Interesting perspective from an ST point of view ....."retiring" from a 'professional" career where she probably never earned anything of note ..... now moving to a medical career where she really will have a meaningful and fulfilling career and a real impact on peoples lives. Good for her ....and congratulations on a significant life step. Triathlon really isn't a profession at all .....

Dave

I know that Chrissie Wellington expressed similar doubts ("triathlon is not a meaningful and fulfilling career") to Brett Sutton, who told her - correctly - that she would, because of her success, have a bigger platform to make change than she ever could have imagined working in government (which she did before). And it's true. Look at the statements she has made re: women in sport, the work she has done for ALS, and - most importantly (IMO) - the unquantifiable value of shattering the limits of what people thought was possible. Look at the people Chrissie inspires by what she does. You think that doesn't have a real impact on peoples' lives? You think that isn't fulfilling and meaningful?

It's a rare and special treat to make your living doing something you love. And I think that the opportunity to do so is always meaningful, always fulfilling, and always has a real impact on other people.

If you have a dream, pursue it as hard as you can. The world needs more of that.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [Rappstar] [ In reply to ]
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I agree about fulfilling career, dreams etc....but only a few get to have the same influence and get meaning from their career that Chrissie can. Jocelyn will probably have a bigger impact on people's lives as a medical professional. Hard for her to have the same impact on this world in triathlon as Chrissie can. That's just the reality of being a lot slower than Chrissie. No disrespect. If Chrissie was a ~ 10 hour female pro, her impact would not be as large, because few would care/listen to what she has to say, even though it might be exactly the same message.

Good move by Jocelyn!
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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she can do great things in her age group. good for her for a big life step.

Call of Duty
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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I visited Jocelyn's blog WAY more than any other pro.

Once I'd read thru all of doc's gems on the tbb website the only reason I ever really visited was to see what Jocelyn was doing (I like Brandon's blog too).

Watching her progress was really inspiring. There was a point where she was blogging every day; that was awesome. She offered a view into a world that most of us don't get to see. And a perspective that was very open, candid and funny.

I think Jocelyn had a huge impact on people. It may not be the same as what she can do now, but she gave way more than many top pros and I was surprised more sponsors didn't clamour to sign her.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [bluepoint] [ In reply to ]
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bluepoint, it's an interesting discussion, sure, Jocelyn needed money, but big sponsorship would have changed her as a person, not good or bad, but it would have.

What she had that most pro's dont, is a point of view, and nothing to lose. The "problem" with many pro's is they have a lot to lose and they feel their best position is not to have a point of view. As @rapstar and Chrissie have also proven, it's not nad to have a point of view, but eventually you get defined by it. Most pro's treat triathlon as a job, then a passion. They let the job define them, Jocelyn never did and she will be the same in what she does next, it's just the way she is.

Jocelyn was fun from the get-go when I first knew her, there were just a small band of triathletes back in 2002/3 on Livejournal along with someguy called Zuckerberg, when I met her in real time she was obviously passionate and cared about things, but she thought she had a chance at making it as a pro' and so I agreed to help. She was already committed to helping through her prosthetics, we rode 40-miles back to Austin from a race where she'd just won her age group... the rest is history. She gave it her best shot, was a role model for many and had a big impact out in China and Korea, this years accident with the car at IM Korea just accelerated a decision I think should would have made anyway.


++Mark. [former wongstar travel sponsor]
http://triman.livejournal.com



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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [trimark] [ In reply to ]
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I dunno, I think Chrissie's defined by her ridiculous record of success in races more than her point of view on any or all subjects.

Rappstar is a bit different as he was a 'voice' in triathlon before he was a successful athlete - but as time goes on he gets less and less defined by his words and more and more defined by his results.
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Re: The Wongstar is retiring [trimark] [ In reply to ]
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Great to meet the 'travel sponsor'!

I'd add that Jocelyn took us all on a journey as she travelled around the world, broke and single, trying to make it as a pro.

I honestly think that if she hired an editor she could take all her blog entries from this period and have a really successful book!
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