- Avery Martin
- 4 days ago
Chase Kowalski had a deep love for anything and everything athletic. At only six years old, he competed in his first triathlon, where he swam, biked and ran to the finish line with excitement.
“He was a great little boy who tried everything and excelled at everything that he did. So he was just a natural at getting people together; he made people laugh, and then he also would just be super active,” said Rebecca Kowalski, Chase’s mother.
Chase was just seven years old when he was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012. But his love of triathlon and sports lives on more than 13 years after his death through the Race4Chase Youth Triathlon at YMCA Camp Sloper in Southington, which was held on Saturday.
661 children from across Connecticut swam in Sloper Pond, biked along the gravel paths and ran through the field to reach the finish line. Some made it to the end on their own, while others crossed hand in hand, but all athletes were cheered on and supported by friends, family and teammates.
While Kowalski says she is often reminded of her son when she sees butterflies and dragonflies, it's watching that team spirit and camaraderie amongst the athletes that brings back the most memories of her son’s giving nature and love for helping friends.
“It's about the magic of Chase, who he was, what he did, sportsmanship, and helping each other. Triathlon is an individual sport, but we treat it as a community and as a team because if your teammate doesn't get across that line, it doesn't matter that you finish first. The most important part is getting your teammates across that line and doing whatever it takes as a team to be able to push them through,” said Kowalski.
Within months of her son’s death, Kowalski reached out to Jim O’Rourke, who is currently the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford. Hoping to create a children's triathlon in her son’s memory, Kowalski worked alongside the YMCA to bring Race4Chase to Camp Sloper.
“It's powerful. You know, watching the kids come through the finish line. They've done some accomplishments, and Chase is always with us,” said Jim O’Rourke.
Now in its 13th year, the Race4Chase Youth Triathlon is sponsored by the Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski Foundation and reaches thousands of children ages six to 12 across four states. Many former athletes return as coaches and help mentor the next generation in their triathlon journeys.
Kowalski said those returners, some of whom have been racing with the program since kindergarten, are the most inspiring to her.
“I've never seen a program where it's impacted a child from the time that they start to the time that they can give back. That to me is amazing,” said Kowalski.
Michael Tutoli is one of those returning athletes-turned-coaches. Now a rising junior at UConn, he was once a classmate of Chase. He has since competed in triathlons in his friend’s honor, and now coaches young athletes. He said the event has given him so much, which he hopes to reciprocate.
“It gave me, obviously, a way to physically stay in shape, but [to also] meet friends that I carried through high school, and also just a larger sense of purpose, going through something larger than myself,” said Tutoli.
Jameson O’Rourke, whose father Jim was instrumental in bringing the race to Sloper, participated as a triathlete for years. Now 14 and soon to be a freshman at Southington High School, Jameson has returned to inspire children as a coach.
“I love the program so much, everything it does. I couldn't not have something to do during the summer, so I had to come back as a coach and to pass on the legacy of Chase and pass it on to all of my campers,” said Jameson.
Young athletes are guided by coaches like Tutoli and Jameson O’Rourke through a six-week training camp at YMCAs across Connecticut, which teaches children to pace themselves, transition between events and improve their race times.
New to the roster of participating YMCAs this year is Downtown Hartford, where 30 children learned the sport of triathlon. Many received bikes for the first time and also learned to swim, a skill that Jim O’Rourke says serves them far beyond the competition pond.
“The biggest thing that we learn in downtown Hartford and a lot of our urban communities, unfortunately, is that kids don't have access to water and are, unfortunately, most likely to drown as well, especially our black and brown kids. So it's so important that we teach them how to swim, and I'm pleased to say I was told almost all 30 of our kids know how to at least be safe around water now,” said Jim O’Rourke.
When the race is over, and medals bearing little Chase’s photo and artwork are handed out, Kowalski hopes the children who swam, biked and ran in her son’s honor take more out of the experience than simply crossing the finish line or achieving a personal best time.
“I hope they gain the confidence that they can do anything that they set their minds to, and the older kids that they keep chasing their hearts, and just keep giving back to their communities, and to all the other little kids, and stick with triathlon,” said Kowalski.
Jameson O’Rourke, who completed several laps of the course with his campers on Saturday, says he hopes children can take away a feeling of accomplishment and pride for what they finished.
“The finish line is what they've worked for the last six weeks. That's what they've been trying to do: to cross that finish line. Whether it's their first time, their second time, their fifth time, it always feels the same, especially when you cross it. Just the feeling of accomplishment – it just feels really good,” said Jameson O’Rourke. “Any tiredness is gone; it goes away.”
