Oregon's loss is Minnesota's gain. Gifted scholar/pedagogue/triathlete Robyn Wangberg, Ph.d is anxious to duke it out with the best girls in the upper Midwest, but she'll have to wait until 2010 to do so.
(pics - Robyn at work and at Kona '08)
What do we know about Robyn Wangberg? Well, she's statuesque. "I'm tall," she reported matter-of-factly in a phone interview. "I'm 5'9 1/2", but I usually just say I'm 5' 10"."
She's also scary smart. How smart is that? Smart enough to know about "non-magnetic nano-composites" and "infrared refractive index material." In fact, she (and three colleagues) authored an article on the relationship of these things, which appeared in the Journal of the Optical Society of America B. Of course, one needs a Ph.d to understand this advanced physics stuff. Appropriately, Robyn has one, which she received from Oregon State University in 2008. Her doctorate came in handy when she applied for, and received, a professorship at St. Mary's University in Winona.
What else do we know about her? She's honest. How honest? It's one thing to like beets, but it's quite another thing to actually admit that you like them. "Beets, I LOVE them," she confessed freely, without even a smidgen of shame. She also hinted that her last meal--let's pretend for a moment that she is on Death Row--would consist of pineapple, strawberries, cheese and, of course, a copious helping of the aforementioned rubicund root.
And there are two other things we know about Robyn Wangberg. One, she is very talented triathlete. And two, she is currently very pregnant. Robyn's post-partum tri goals, which she hopes to accomplish in 2010, include "breaking 10:30 in an Ironman distance race...improve my half..distance times...and becoming involved in the Minnesota triathlon scene."
ROBYN WANGBERG
Age: 30
Born: Madison, WI
Grew up: Oregon, WI
College: Luther College (Decorah, IA), BA (2001)
Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR), Ph.d (2008)
Occupation: Assistant Professor (Physics) at St. Mary's University (Winona, MN)
RACING HIGHLIGHTS:
1st @ Pacific Crest Half '07 (4:40:01)
4th amateur @ Spirit of Racine Half (4:41:32)
10th amateur female @ Vineman 70.3 '07 (4:52:06)
24th overall (including pros) @ Ironman Canada '08 (10:42:28)
10:55:57 @ 2008 Hawaiian Ironman World Championship
