MEET THE TEAM
David Allsopp
David grew up in Maryland in a swimming family. He went to the University of Maryland and was on the club swim team, serving as president his senior year. After graduating from UMD he moved to Durham and works as a chemical engineer. In 2018, David rediscovered the competitive itch and entered into several local open water swims and super sprint triathlons and was hooked. In 2022, David is excited for his first year as an IOS Elite Team Member and is focused on racing local sprint triathlons. David enjoys participating in local run clubs and mountain biking. His favorite pre-race meal is Chipotle and favorite post race meal is a pizza.
Justin Burrows
Justin grew up spearfishing in the Bahamas until he was 7 years old and after moving to Miami, he participated in team sports to include basketball, soccer, football and volleyball. In 2014, Justin got into triathlon and distance running where he progressed from the Sprint/Olympic distance to the Ironman and from local 5k's to the Marathon. Since then, Justin has competed in 5 Ironmans to include the Ironman World Championships in 2018, over 20 half ironmans to include the 70.3 WC in Chattanooga (2017), St. George (2021) and he has qualified for the 2023 70.3 WC in Lahti, Finland, and 4 marathons, to include the Boston Marathon in 2017. In April 2021, Justin relocated to the triangle with his wife (Kaile), 2 rescue dogs (Rocky and Maya) and they recently welcomed their first child/boy on August 30, 2022 (Luca). Outside of sport, Justin enjoys traveling, adventure sports (zip lining, hiking, spearfishing and anything in the snow or water) and craft cocktails, his favorite is a classic Negroni!
Cid Cardoso Jr
Cid returns to the team again this year as both the title sponsor and a stand-out athlete. Cid has more than thirty years of race experience and as many Ironmans on his resume. His modesty hides his history. We recently learned that he was a sponsored triathlete as a teenager in his native Brazil, which is almost unheard of at that time. He basically chose college in the US over becoming a professional triathlete, which explains how an amateur athlete of his caliber beats up a fair number of pros. He is strong at all distances and disciplines but seems most in his element on long, hard bike rides.
Chris Carter
Chris is originally from Buffalo, NY. He went to college at SUNY Geneseo where he competed in cross country and track. He specialized in mid distance races, earning All-American honors. After graduating college in 2013, he completed his first Ironman race in Lake Placid. Since then he has finished 4 more Lake Placid Ironman races. Chris completed a double Ironman (Anvil) and the Blue Ridge half Ironman, both in Virginia. In 2022 he qualified for Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI and the 70.3 World Championships in St. George, Ut. Chris and his wife Kelsey recently welcomed their first child, Kaiden. He is looking forward to using the jogging stroller to have Kaiden join him on some runs.
Jerry Jin
Jerry Jin is originally from China and immigrated to the US in 2000. Though he participated in track and field at an early age in China, it is here he found his passion for endurance sports. During the 2010s he trained for road cycling and raced for multiple years in local, state, and regional level events. In 2021, Jerry started to train for endurance running and competed in events from 5 miles distance up to marathons, including the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon. Encouraged and inspired by his triathlete friends, Jerry started his multi-sports journey in 2022 to compete in duathlon races. He wrapped up a successful 2022 season with a few wins. In 2023, Jerry joined the IOS Elite Triathlon team, with the goal to learn from experienced triathletes in and outside of this team, while competing in short-distance triathlons and in the national championship duathlons. Outside of training and racing, Jerry enjoys cooking and baking. His favorite thing is swimming, biking, and running with his two sons while telling them, in a semi-joking way, that one day they might become better triathletes than their father.
Tom Lehr
Tom has been an athlete his whole life but didn’t start running, biking or swimming until he was 49 years old when his brother introduced him to triathlon. He started out doing short course triathlons and then branched out to Half & Full distance triathlons in 2015. Since then, Tom has continued to focus on long course events with a focus on improving his biking and running. In 2021, everything all came together at Ironman Tulsa where Tom won his age group (M55-59) in the Ironman North American Championship with a Boston Qualifying time on his marathon run in the Ironman. He went on to also win Ironman Musselman 70.3 in his age group. In October of 2022, Tom completed a lifetime bucket list item of racing in Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Outside of triathlon, Tom is proud of his 2 grown sons, loves to travel and SCUBA dive
Eric Li
Eric is from Taiwan and never considered himself an athlete when young, and is thrilled to join the IOS Tri team in 2023! He didn’t start swimming, biking and running until he was 45 years old. A friend invited him to train for triathlon with the goal to complete a half ironman before 50 years old. Eric started training and fell in love with this sport. Starting with short courses the 1st few years, Eric completed his 1st 70.3 race, IMNC70.3 in 2019 at age 49. Since then, Eric has continued to focus on long course events. In 2022 Eric podiumed in his age group (M50-55) in every race he participated, including 3 half-iron distance races and one Olympic race. Eric is looking forward to completing his 1st Full Ironman, IMFL in 2023. Outside of triathlon and work, Eric is a violinist, and loves to volunteer in local Taiwanese and church communities.
Karen Monuszko
Karen Monuszko is originally from Florida but first began pursuing the sport of triathlon here in North Carolina. She had an atypical path into triathlon, given that she was previously a division 1 springboard diver at Davidson College. After undergrad she spent time training and racing with nationally-ranked triathlon teams in Arizona and California before starting medical school at Duke University in 2017. She hopes to continue chasing after her dreams of a dual physician-triathlete career for many years to come. A huge portion of her success is due to her English setter who is always pushing the pace and distance on their runs together. Outside of medicine and triathlon she loves to hike, go on adventures with her dog, and spend time with family.
Corinne Mouw
Corinne, a New Jersey native, started her triathlon journey in high school and carried it through her college years. She attended NC State University in Raleigh, studying Mechanical Engineering and participating in the Triathlon Club at NC State and joining IOS Elite in her sophomore year. In her senior year, she competed at Ironman World Championships. Now switching gears, she's stepping away from long distance and now racing draft-legal sprints and local Olympic distances. Outside of triathlon, Corinne can be found rock climbing at TRC, hiking in Western North Carolina and Virginia, or working in energy system design!
Nathan Poland
Nathan was raised in New Hampshire, went to college at NC State, and lived 4 years in Nashville plus 10 years in Texas before returning to NC to reside in Cary. After playing baseball, basketball, and tennis throughout his college years, he started swimming, cycling, and running in 2004. Nathan did his first triathlon in 2005 and, thanks to marrying a triathlete, has been able to keep up the triathlon habit 15+ years which also includes marathons and cycling events. He’s grateful to be part of the NC tri-cyclist community where the roads are smooth and friends are fast.
Olivia Romine
Olivia is a Greensboro native and an undergraduate student at UNC Chapel Hill studying international relations and Spanish. She formerly served as the President of the UNC Triathlon Club with the goal of making the sport more accessible to beginners. Olivia started racing in 2011 and raced her first half-Ironman last year, but plans to focus on the sprint draft-legal distance in 2023. Outside of triathlon and school, Olivia enjoys working part-time for a tech start-up and dabbling in other endurance activities including skiing, backpacking, and mountain biking.
Mateo Saenz
Mateo Saenz is from Ecuador and currently pursuing an MBA at Duke University. As a good South American, Mateo used to play fútbol during high school and got involved in running when he started college. In 2019, Mateo began training for a triathlon. He is a Duke Triathlon Club member and has done several Olympic distance races. He expects to complete his first 70.3 in 2023. While not training, Mateo likes to volunteer in social projects and support organizations like Rotary International.
Mike Swigon
Mike grew up in Salisbury NC, swimming competitively at the National Championship level, but college took his life in a different direction and he spent the next several years out of the pool. After attending NC State, Mike got back into swimming with his old training partner and took up cycling and running as a change-of-pace. Having been interested in triathlon for many years, he competed in his first race in 2016...quickly followed by several more races the same year. Mike loves the local triathlon scene in the Triangle (and broader NC) and can be found at most local races - competing in sprint distance races throughout the season, with focus on 70.3's as his "A" races. While not training and competing, Mike enjoys live music, chilling at breweries, and trying to keep up with his energetic 6 year old daughter.
Logan Teal
Logan grew up outside of Raleigh North Carolina where he spent many of his days swimming. He went on to swim at Old Dominion University in Virginia, where he was the co-captain of the men’s team both junior and senior years. After graduating from ODU he went to graduate school at NC State for analytics; and also started to dabble in the sport of triathlon. He spent a few years in Texas where he became more involved in the sport and competed in his first 140.6 at The Woodlands. Since then, he’s competed mostly in 70.3 distances including St. George WC (2021) but plans to focus on another 140.6 this season. When he’s not in full triathlon mode you can find him rolling around Umstead on his gravel bike, exploring local restaurants or in front of the pottery wheel practicing a new hobby.