10/02/2026
It's First Friday Feature‼️
This month, we are featuring a member who truly has a passion for excellence, respect, and dedication: Yoshi Lee. He just competed in the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Spain last weekend. He sent in these pictures and an inspiring article about his journey. 🗺 🚴 🏃♂️ 🏊🏼♂️ 🇪🇸
Read on for Yoshi's story: 👀
My YMCA journey began when I transitioned from college into a full-time role with Boeing around 2013. I wanted to continue the swimming routine I had grown up with on the East Coast, and the local Y provided the perfect place to do that. The Y also offered a full fitness facility, including a weight room that I have increasingly used to maintain strength and prepare for the demands of daily life.
Its proximity to home has helped me maintain a routine that has been part of my life since I was a kid. I have had the opportunity to swim in amazing pools around the world, including Olympic venues, but there is something special about having a hometown pool I can call home. For more than a decade, that place has been the Northshore Y.
Then came triathlon, making the Y an even more important part of my training.
I entered my first triathlon in 2016 at Seafair after using an employer discount to sign up for what sounded like a strange but exciting event: swim, bike, and run. I had swimming and biking down, but running was—and still is—not my strength.
After Seafair, I entered the Lake Meridian Triathlon. I was leading the sprint overall until a flat tire during the final mile of the bike course allowed several athletes to pass me. I finished the race, but I didn't want a mechanical issue to be the way my triathlon journey ended. I signed up for the Lake Stevens Triathlon, and the rest is history.
Since then, I have completed 14 Ironman 70.3 races, two full Ironmans, numerous Olympic and sprint-distance triathlons, T100 races, four Chicago Marathons, and countless other races—and I'm still counting.
I sometimes ask myself why I keep coming back to the sport. The answer goes far beyond competition. Triathlon has given me a healthier lifestyle, an outlet from the demands of everyday life, a greater understanding of how to care for my body, and a community that welcomes people of all backgrounds, abilities, lifestyles, and cultures.
All those hours of swimming, biking, running, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and recovery recently led to the opportunity to compete at the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Pontevedra. That experience will stay with me forever. Meeting athletes from around the world and having conversations with Team USA elite and professional athletes and coaches inspired me to find more ways to give back to the community that has supported me.
The Y has been a critical part of that journey. I hope to share my experience and inspire kids and adults to give triathlon a try and discover what it can bring to their lives. For me, the sport opened my eyes to what is possible when you challenge yourself, build a routine, and surround yourself with a supportive community.
The Y has been there for me throughout that journey, and I hope I can help bring that same sense of possibility to Y members and the broader community.
