Although it hasn’t been that long since North Hudson Regional Firefighter John O’Sullivan led the Jersey City State (now New Jersey City State University) Gothic Knights football team as an All-American, the North Bergen native is back in training. O’Sullivan has joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training and will be participating in Mrs. T’s Triathlon in Chicago on August 25.
“I always wanted to do a triathlon,” said O’Sullivan last week. “I like the endurance challenge and the demanding physical commitment involved. This event served my own selfish purposes and raises money, which is good.”
A triathlon consists of one-mile open swim, 24-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run.
A good cause
Like many other people’s families, O’Sullivan’s family has been affected by cancer. Both of O’Sullivan’s parents were diagnosed with types of cancer, and he is glad to have the chance to raise money for research.
“Neither of my parents had leukemia or lymphoma, but the research really branches out into other cancers,” said O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan first got involved with the Team in Training while working out at a fitness center in New Milford. After attending a few meetings, O’Sullivan decided to join the team.
O’Sullivan is one of the 15 Triathlon Team in Training members participating in this event.
The Team in Training also provides each athlete with a professional coach to help them train along the way.
The society also provides the athletes with the names of cancer patients they will be helping in the event.
O’Sullivan is participating in honor of New Jersey residents 10-year-old Michael D’Amico, who has been in remission since 1998, and 42-year-old Jack Ruggiero, who has twice been diagnosed with cancer. O’Sullivan will also be wearing a ribbon during the event in honor of one of his good friends who has also been diagnosed with cancer.
O’Sullivan’s goal is to raise $3,200. So far, O’Sullivan has raised one third of that amount.
Getting in the swim of things
O’Sullivan was a standout football player at North Bergen High School. He also played varsity basketball and baseball for the NBHS Bruins.
O’Sullivan was inducted into the New Jersey City University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. He was the school’s all-time leader in quarterback sacks and overall tackles. O’Sullivan was named an All-American in college and All-State in North Bergen High School.
“I am very proud of my football career at Jersey City State,” said O’Sullivan in a Reporter interview before being inducted two years ago. “I was recognized as an All-American, when I didn’t think it was possible, coming from a small school like Jersey City State, known usually for basketball.”
In 1993, O’Sullivan became a North Bergen Firefighter, now part of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue department.
However, all of O’Sullivan’s training as a high school and college athlete, or a firefighter, could not have prepared him for the training he has been doing the past two months.
Before training for the triathlon, O’Sullivan said he played a lot of basketball and weightlifting to keep in shape. Now O’Sullivan says that he performs three or four swimming sessions a week and two to three cycling and running sessions.
“I am doing a lot of swimming,” said O’Sullivan. “They tell you to concentrate on your weak point. I now have a whole new respect for swimmers.”
“I wasn’t very streamlined in the beginning,” added O’Sullivan, who said he has grown more comfortable in the water. “Now I am learning the breaststroke for open water swimming.”
O’Sullivan is going to practice for the August triathlon by participating in a smaller one in Wyckoff. The Wyckoff triathlon consists of only a half-mile swim.
“This will give me a better idea,” said O’Sullivan. “If I don’t drown, I know I’ll make it in August.”