Rebeccah Wassner Talks About Transitioning From CPA To Professional Triathlete
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Very few professional triathletes became elite athletes right out of school. For most professionals, choosing triathlon as a career came after already starting another job. In the case of American Rebeccah Wassner that other job was as a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA). Wassner talks about making the transition from the board room to the race course.

Ten years ago, I was sitting in a training session at a Big Four accounting firm, thinking about my answer to a question on a self-evaluation form: “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” I remember exactly what I wrote: to be a professional triathlete winning the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.
I knew that reply wasn’t exactly what the managers wanted to read (I’m sure everyone else has written something like “making partner” or “CFO”), and I thought about changing it to something a little easier for the managers to swallow. But I didn’t.