Lance Panigutti – better known as "Gutti" grew up in the rural Connecticut town of Newtown. Even though he is only 26 Lance has been racing triathlon at the national/international level since 1996. At the age of 14 he broke out in the swimming world winning a state championship and earning All-Connecticut honors. Being so fast at such an early age came with expectations, but Lance quickly sought a new challenge – triathlon. Over the next 5 seasons Gutti would go on to race in 2 ITU World Championships in the 16-19 age division, with a high placing of 25th in 2000 (Perth, Australia).
Suddenly in 2001 he disappeared from the sport. During the fall of 2001 his mom was involved in a bike crash that left her paralyzed from the waste down. The injury of the C7 vertebrae was not complete, but doctors offered little hope that she'd ever walk again. According to Gutti, "Racing was the last thing I wanted to even think about. When I came home from college in the summer time I was able to help with her pt. As far as I was concerned my days in the sport were behind me and I didn't have any regrets." During his 5 years on an academic scholarship at CU he found different avenues to keep busy. In 2003 as the mascot "CHIP" for the cheerleading team he earned All-American status, you might remember seeing CHIP on the All-American Capital One commercials. When he wasn't helping in his mom's rehab program he competed as an ocean lifeguard for Compo Beach (Westport, CT), dominating the North East rescue board and Ironguard competitions.
Upon graduating in the spring of 2005 with honors in classics and history Lance was ready to move on to Pepperdine Law School. However, he never lost the passion for his sport and decided to put grad school off until 2012. Gutti's focus is completely on ITU draft-legal racing with his focus on Olympic Trials in 2012. "It's more of a head-to-head aggressive style of racing. Does it take the bike out? – Hell no, it makes the swim important again and creates way more action out on the rode."
Currently when he is not training you can find him as the Masters Swim Coach at RallySport Health and Fitness Club. GUTTI is also an associate triathlon coach for Wes Hobson Performance and conducts Lactate Profile and Hemoglobin Testing through Without Limits Performance inc. Feel free to e-mail Gutti82@gmail.com anytime for private swim lessons, under water video swim analysis, triathlon coaching, performance testing, or any triathlon related questions. Some great products that GUTTI recommends are 2XU race clothing and wetsuits, Paketa Bikes, Peaceful Mountain Arnica Plus and Tendon Rescue, and CompuTrainer.
Favorite Athletes: Shaun White, Bode Miller, Ricky Williams, Kelly Slater
Favorite Books: Pipe Dreams by Kelly Slater, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
What’s in you IPod: Right now? Donovan Frankenreiter and Outkast (Idyllwild)
Favorite Movie: Way to many to list – Chances are I’ve seen everything out there!
Food you couldn’t live without: Without a doubt that’s definitely Traditional Chex Mex
Worst thing to happen in a race: Never happens, no matter what its all part of the adventure and experience. At Junior Elite Nationals in 99’ my front tire flatted and I rode 12 miles to the finish and still qualifier for the national team. In 97’ I crashed at the aid station at mile 22 of 44 at the Sunapee Ironman Qualifier and finished my best long course race ever all covered in road rash and blood. They all make for some great stories, otherwise life would be boring!
Best race memory: Signing up for the 24 Hrs of Triathlon on blind ignorance a week before and shocking myself with a race to remember. Best moment of the race was at 18 Hrs when everyone at the venue realized it was a two-man race that would come down to the last hour – the transition area became electric!
If you weren’t an elite triathlete where would you be: Sleeping on a beach in Costa Rica, surfing all day.
Daily Motivation: That’s easy; watching my mom defy the medical community by relearning how to walk after being paralyzed from the waist down in a cycling accident. It took 6 months to take 1 step in between parallel bars, 1 year to walk with a walker, 2 years to walk with 2 canes, and 3 years to walk 3 miles unassisted with 1 cane. Nothing happens over night, you just have to keep taking to next step in front of you no matter how small and never say can’t, never say die. I learned more from watching her every day than any coach or pro athlete could ever teach me.
