Mission Complete

Last winter, Lukas Verzbicas made national news on the track here at The Armory, becoming the first athlete to win the mile, two mile and 5,000m runs at the same New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Of course, it wasn't the only news the Oregon-bound Verzbicas would make on the track. Months later, in the Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile at the Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, Verzbicas became just the second high school runner to clock a sub-four mile in a race consisting of high school athletes.

Now he has made world news off the track. On Sunday in Beijing, he captured the junior title at the World Triathlon Championships, beating the competition by 33 seconds and honoring training partner and USA Triathlon teammate Kevin McDowell, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in March.

"I had him in my mind the whole race. I knew I was doing it for him," Verzbicas said. "It motivated me more than if I was just doing this by myself."

McDowell — who completed chemotherapy in late August — greeted Verzbicas at the finish line. "It couldn't have been a better day. It was the perfect ending," said McDowell, who intends to resume his training regime soon. "I truly believed he could do it, and he made it happen. The whole ride and journey through this entire thing has been incredible. I will never trade it for anything."