History of the Landsharks

Landshark Legacy

When the Derby City Triathlon Club dissolved in the early 1990’s, Louisville was without a multisport support organization. It was several years later that a group of dedicated triathletes came back to the table and set a course for a new Triathlon Club for the greater Louisville area.

It was shortly after the Memphis in May triathlon in 1996 that John Giovenco and a small pack of triathletes came together and formed the Louisville Landsharks. They elected John as the President and Steve Heckman as Vice President. Initially, the idea of creating the club was to attract experienced triathletes; however, the membership quickly grew to 100 members consisting of all experience levels so the vision and goals of the club were altered to support the triathlon experience from the novice to the elite.

John continued leading the club until he stepped down in 1999. Then Mike Kresge took over club leadership. He continued to lead the club in the direction of supporting the triathlon experience until the early 2000’s. The club leadership continued to cater to all levels of athletes, but the membership eventually dwindled and only a few kept the Landsharks alive.

It wasn’t until 2006 when Mike Kresge and many local multisport businesses led the first revival of the Louisville Landsharks. Together, the community worked diligently to revive the club. The club saw a re-growth in membership and it maintained its course of catering to every level of athlete until there was another decline in membership in 2008.

In 2009, with the vision of Brian Thompson aided by the energy of a growing multisport community, the Louisville Landsharks restructured and has grown into a 200+ membership multisport club focused on assisting all triathletes, novice to elite, to reach their personal goals.

The club’s organization consists of the general membership, sponsor membership, and a board of directors. Together we set annual goals to ensure that the Louisville Landsharks is a club catering to every member.

The Louisville Landsharks is a USAT certified club. USA Triathlon (USAT) is “proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 events and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).”