Honorary Starters

Two scores and one year ago, our Founding Mothers brought forth a race to assure that girls would have the same sports opportunities as boys. In 1982, Judy Sedwick, Diane Barnett, and Marianne Wieland developed a triathlon for their daughters and a few friends, ages 9 to 11. Staged at Marianne’s house by Sand Lake, with the transition area in the driveway, the origins of what would become the Alaska Women’s Gold Nugget Triathlon were born. Within a couple of years, the mothers joined the race, and the “GNT” has been growing ever since, as a race that encourages young and old to participate in an activity that combines different athletic skills and abilities.

Judy (an athlete with exposure to lots of women’s sports during her education outside of Alaska) and her pal Diane (a gymnastics coach) created the idea while watching
a half Ironman triathlon on vacation in Maui, and they recruited Marianne (a renowned Alaskan artist) to use her property. By the very nature of their backgrounds
and their dedication to their daughters’ access to sports, our founding mothers set the stage for our beloved community-minded, inclusive GNT culture. These incredible women will be out there on race day, either volunteering, racing, or cheering on the women of the 40th GNT.

Thank you to these ladies for all their GNT magic!