{"id":9686,"date":"2025-10-18T10:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/9686\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:31:09","slug":"meet-the-skisibs-the-sister-brother-combo-conquering-florida-one-triathlon-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/9686\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the SkiSibs: The sister\/brother combo conquering Florida one triathlon at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. \u2013\u00a0Edelweiss Szymanski turns 10 on a Friday in December. She will celebrate the milestone by running a 5-kilometer race in Daytona Beach. The next day, she\u2019s scheduled to compete in a triathlon.<\/p>\n

No pizza party. No theme park.<\/p>\n

How many 10-year-olds want to run three miles on their birthday, then swim, bike, and run some more the day after?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one does,\u201d Lacey Szymanski said, pointing to her daughter with both index fingers.<\/p>\n

Meet Edelweiss, a young triathlete on the rise who\u2019s as tough as the\u00a0flower<\/a>\u00a0she\u2019s named after. Meet her brother, Spartacus, too, 14 months younger and just as tenacious.<\/p>\n

The SkiSibs, as they are known throughout Florida\u2019s triathlon community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The SkiSibs: Spartacus and Edelweiss. (Photo by Roger Mooney)<\/p>\n

Their bedrooms are filled with trophies, medals, and plaques \u2013 the spoils of reaching the podiums (finishing in the top three) at triathlons, road and bicycle races. The garage of their Safety Harbor home is packed with bicycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an active family,\u201d Lacey said.<\/p>\n

Lacey and her husband, Jacek, have participated in triathlon relays.<\/p>\n

Some mornings, Jacek and the kids can be found riding the bike trails around Pinellas County, waking as early as 3 a.m. so Jacek can get in a long ride before heading to his job as a sergeant with the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

If they time it right, and they usually do, the trio will stop along the overlook on the Courtney Campbell Causeway and snack on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while they watch the sun rise over Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really like watching the sunrise,\u201d Edelweiss said.<\/p>\n

She and Spartacus receive Florida education choice scholarships for\u00a0students with unique abilities<\/a>\u00a0managed by\u00a0Step Up For Students<\/a>. Edelweiss is dyslexic. Spartacus has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They are home educated by Lacey, who taught in a private school for 10 years before the family adopted this educational format.<\/p>\n

Edelweiss benefits from one-on-one instruction with her mom, while Spartacus is not required to sit at a desk and complete his assignments, something that was an issue when he attended a brick-and-mortar school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scholarship has been a game-changer. It\u2019s awesome that Florida offers this,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cI have my doctorate in education, so I\u2019m really happy that I\u2019m able to help them in the ways that I can and create a curriculum that is specialized to their individual needs, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scholarship covers Spartacus\u2019s occupational therapy, as well as art class and piano lessons for Edelweiss. And learning at home allows for flexible schedules. It\u2019s not unusual for Spartacus, an early riser, to complete his math assignments before the sun is up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Biking is the favorite part of a triathlon for Edelweiss. (Photo by Roger Mooney)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The family home borders a wetland, which is ideal for interactive science lessons. It also provided the sticks the kids used to carve their own forks, and the twigs Edelweiss used to create a bird\u2019s nest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer art style isn\u2019t cut and dry, like paint a picture of this penguin. It\u2019s more abstract,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way her brain works. Music, art, and athletics are a lot easier for her. When dyslexia held her back from other things, she kind of poured herself into those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lacey was pregnant with her daughter, and she and Jacek had yet to settle on a name when she came across a music box she bought during a trip to Germany. It played the song \u201cEdelweiss<\/a>\u201d from the movie \u201cThe Sound of Music.\u201d An edelweiss is a stout flower that grows in the rugged high-altitude terrain of the Alps and the Carpathian mountain ranges in Europe and blooms in the winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018That\u2019s what I want to name my daughter,\u2019\u201d Lacey said.<\/p>\n

She and her husband believe that people can become the personification of their names. That holds true with Edelweiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is very hearty, and it aligns with being a triathlete. She can endure a lot and has a high tolerance for the sport,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cAnd at the same time, it\u2019s a very beautiful flower. It doesn\u2019t look like your normal flower. It\u2019s very different and unique, which is what she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Spartacus? Well, he was making a fist in his first ultrasound.<\/p>\n

Jacek said he looked like Spartacus, the ex-slave who became a gladiator and led a rebellion against the Roman Republic in 71 BC.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said his name is going to be Spartacus, and I said, \u2018Yeah, right. There\u2019s no way I would name my son Spartacus.\u2019 And here we are,\u201d Lacey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do get odd looks when we call his name at a triathlon,\u201d Jacek said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying it\u2019s like yelling \u2018Fire!\u2019 in a crowd, but almost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You will often find Edelweiss on top of the podium on race day. (Photo courtesy of the Szymanski family)<\/p>\n

Edelweiss competed in her first triathlon when she was 5. The family belonged to a local YMCA, and Lacey saw a post about the race on the morning of the event. So, she woke Edelweiss and asked her if she wanted to give it a try. Edelweiss said yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me something to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The race consisted of one lap in the 25-meter pool, a half-mile bike ride, and a quarter-mile run. Competing on a bike that had pom-poms and a basket on the handlebars, Edelweiss won her age group.<\/p>\n

She had one question for her mom when she finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen can we do this again?\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer? As often as possible.<\/p>\n

She and Spartacus have moved up to sprint triathlons \u2013 400-yard swim, 8.1-mile bike ride, and a 5K run.<\/p>\n

The hardest leg for Edelweiss is the run. The best part, she said, is crossing the finish line.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I don\u2019t have to run anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been known to finish a race in her socks. Once, when she developed blisters and tossed her shoes halfway through the race, and another time when she was having trouble getting them on during the transition from the bike to the run and didn\u2019t want to waste more time.<\/p>\n

Jacek was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States at 19. He was an avid cycler in his native country and passed that love on to his children.<\/p>\n

Edelweiss and Spartacus also compete in long-distance cycling races, where they are often the top finishers in their 7-11 age group.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey goof around when they\u2019re going for a ride with dad,\u201d Jacek said. \u201cBut something switches when they are in the competitive world. They put on their game face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before being immersed in the world of triathlons, Edelweiss was all about her ballet lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was very into ballet, but now she doesn\u2019t want to go back,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the same adrenaline rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their weekends are loaded with triathlons across the state and cycling races as far north as Virginia. Lacey keeps track of the schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our lifestyle now,\u201d Lacey said. \u201cWe\u2019re always in the water or on bikes, doing something like that. Edelweiss doesn\u2019t feel like she\u2019s actually competing. She\u2019s doing what she loves. Spartacus is a ball of fire, too. Both of them together just constantly amazes me about what they\u2019re capable of and the grit that they have to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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