Champion of ‘grinding’
Mt. Lebanon native Lauren Kuntz triumphs over ‘double decathlon.’
Growing up in Mt. Lebanon, Lauren Kuntz never competed in track and field. Her lone sport was gymnastics, which she did at the club and high school levels.
Years later, Kuntz not only competes in track and field, she does every event. Literally every event. And when it comes to the icosathlon — also known as the double decathlon — no American woman has done it better.
Kuntz, 30, has several titles. Among them CEO and cofounder of a startup company named Gaiascope, Inc. She earned a new title last weekend, that of “world champion.” Kuntz claimed the women’s title at the Icosathlon World Championships in Epinal, France. Not only that, but she set a new American women’s record and nearly broke the world record.
Grueling. If there’s one word that can best sum up the icosathlon, that’s probably it. A decathlon, which consists of 10 events, is extremely taxing on a person’s body and mental state. Now multiply that by two. The events are broken up over two days. Ten events per day. It makes you wonder why anybody would ever want to do that to themselves.
“You have to really love the grind of training,” said Kuntz, who returned home Wednesday. “If you don’t love grinding, you should not do this.”
Kuntz, who has lived in the Boston area since graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 2009, was making her icosathlon debut in France. She has only competed in four decathlons, so this was a big step up. When she first learned of the icosathlon, she called it “crazy.” But as she looked into it more, her intrigue grew, as did her confidence that she could do very well if she competed.
When Kuntz began to look into participating in the world championships, she said she was quickly met with a roadblock: She might not be welcome.
“I was initially told not to do it because I was a woman, but that made me want to do it more,” she said. “So I became more persistent. I wanted to get a world record. Eventually, they relented and said, ‘Sure, we’ll open it to women.”
Three other women, all of whom were French, also competed in the event. Kuntz was the lone American man or woman.
For two years, Kuntz trained for the world championships, which are usually held annually. None were contested in 2020 due to the pandemic. She trained with Boston-North Track Club, Patriot Pole Vault and Sam Weeks, a coach at Merrimack College.
It was in the pole vault that Kuntz got her first taste of track and field. She had planned on being a gymnast when she attended college at MIT, but when the school dropped the program, Kuntz was left without a sport.
“It had been a goal for a long time to be a college athlete,” she said. “I had been interested in the pole vault. I knew that you went flying in the air and went upside down. I said, ‘That looks fun.’”
Kuntz turned out to be a natural, as she went on to become a three-time All-American.
Her interest in the decathlon began while she was earning her PhD at Harvard. She spent time as a volunteer assistant coach for Harvard’s track and field team, and after working with some of the decathletes, decided she would like to someday give that a try.
That first time came in June of 2017. Let’s just say Kuntz has had better days.
“It did not go well,” she said, laughing.
For starters, Kuntz had never even competed in seven of the 10 events. She then took a nasty fall in the hurdles, separating her right shoulder. Kuntz is right-handed, so she was forced to throw the discus with her opposite arm. Not ideal.
However, Kuntz’s interest in the decathlon did not wane, one of the reasons being the push for equality being made by her and other women in the sport. Historically, the decathlon is a male sport. The female version is the heptathlon, which consists of seven events.
“It’s gaining momentum,” Kuntz said. “Raising awareness is where the movement is at. We’re making people aware of it. We want young women to say, ‘I want to do this.’”
Kuntz stuck with it, competing in three more decathlons after her rough debut. And then came her first taste of an icosathlon, Aug. 21-22 across the pond. On Day 1, Kuntz competed in the 100-, 400-, 800- and 5,000-meter runs, 200 hurdles, 3,000 steeplechase, long jump, high jump, shot put and hammer throw. On Day 2, it was the 200, 1,500, 3,000, 10,000, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, triple jump, discus, javelin and pole vault.
Day 2 was especially hard, Kuntz said. She called it “brutal.” The pole vault is her best event, but rain and wind made for an unpleasant experience. The final event is the 10,000, which just happens to be Kuntz’s least favorite race. She said she actually was on world record pace during that race, but she ultimately fell off. Her final point total of 10,941 topped the field and came up just shy of the world record of 11,091 set by Great Britain’s Kelly Rodmell in 2004.
“It was nowhere near as terrible as I expected,” Kuntz said, laughing, “but I think the expectation was ‘I’m not going to be walking at the end of this.’ What helped was that there was so much camaraderie among the athletes. Everybody was cheering everyone on. The encouragement helps you through it.”
Kuntz also received lots of encouragement from her dad, Jay, who made the trip to watch her compete.
“He has a deep voice and he makes himself heard,” Kuntz said.
The decathlon and icosathlon worlds likely haven’t heard the last of Kuntz, who plans on returning to competition next year after a brief break. She will soon be having surgery on her foot, but will actually be among family as she recovers. She’s moving back to Pittsburgh this weekend.
It might not be long before she’s the icosathlon world record holder.
“I was really gunning for the world record,” she said. “Next time, I’m not only going to try to beat it, but beat it by a lot.”