Thousands of athletes descend on lakefront for Chicago Kids Triathlon, SuperSprint races

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some of the city's youngest athletes plunged into Lake Michigan on Saturday morning, marking the start of the 2025 Supertri Chicago Kids Triathlon at Foster Beach.

Officials say the Supertri Chicago Triathlon is the largest in its series with more than 7,500 people swimming, running and cycling through the city.

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Seven-hundred kids ranging in age from 7 to 14 took on a challenging endurance event on Saturday.

"It's, like, really fun and it feels really good afterwards," said kids' triathlon competitor Lucy Hartman.

These inspiring athletes took on a 200-meter swim, a 4-mile bike ride and a just over 1-mile run.

Aydin Bokhari-Jaksich said he decided to compete in his first kids' triathlon on Saturday, "Because I like running and swimming and biking."

His mom, Aalya Bokhari, could not be prouder.

"I can't believe it. He looked like a natural out there. He was so calm and knew exactly what he was doing, had a great time. That's all I told him to do," she said.

Caroline Boismery's son, Liam, also hammered out his very first triathlon and says he competed to raise money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

"He loved it. I was actually really proud of him during the practice, as well. We practiced a couple of times. It was a bit tricky getting the transitions right the first couple of rounds, but he crushed it and he had so much fun," she said.

When asked why he wanted to compete, Liam said, "Because I'm a sporty boy and I really like sports."

Supertri's Chicago Triathlon also raised more than $50,000 last year for Laurie Children's Hospital, with a new goal this year to double the donation.

One stroke, pedal and step at a time, these young athletes are making Chicago proud.

The morning continued with the SuperSprint race kicking off at 10 a.m. That is the perfect race for, perhaps, some newcomers to the sport.

But the main event is the SuperSprint League races, which feature some of the top professional triathletes in the world.

The two-day Supertri Chicago Triathlon event will continue Sunday.