COEUR d’ALENE — Community morale and the local economy get big boosts each year during Ironman Coeur d’Alene, but there are some other, much more subtle effects that come from having the triathlon event in the Lake City.

Kiki Miller and her family experienced some of those less visible benefits when they hosted one of the international professional athletes, and her coach.

Miller said she invited athlete Olesya Prystayko and her coach, Vadym Tkachuk, both from the Ukraine, to stay with her family because she thought it would provide a valuable cultural experience and would help her 15-year-old son, Oskar, “be a better citizen of the world.”

Miller’s expectations were met, and the cultural lessons have gone both ways.

“She’s a very strong woman from another country and a great role model for my son to see,” Miller said.

Prystayko is well-known in international triathlon circles. She’s been competing in the multi-sport distance competitions since 2000, and has been a pro since 2004.

She’s new to Ironman in the United States, but is already a rising star. Prystayko placed eighth among the women pros in the June 23 race in Coeur d’Alene. Earlier in June, she competed in a half-Ironman race in Boise and placed fifth. She came in eighth in Ironman Texas in May.

The throngs of cheering spectators and the words of encouragement from the thousands of volunteers are also new and different for Prystayko.

“It’s very fantastic. I’ve raced a lot in Europe, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said. “There are a lot of smiles. There’s a very positive attitude here.”

Active in International Triathlon Union-sanctioned events for years, Prystayko placed fourth in the ITU world championship in 2008.

“I was fourth in the world, but nobody knows, because it’s not popular, but here in America, if you’re an Ironman winner, everybody knows about you,” Prystayko said.

Miller said her son Oskar made certain that everyone at the finish line in Coeur d’Alene knew that Prystayko was from the Ukraine.

Because the athlete had a friend in the United States register her for the race, the organization listed Prystayko with a U.S. address.

On race day, when Oskar realized that Ironman organizers would announce Prystayko’s name with the wrong home country when she crossed the finish-line, the teen went to the organizers and even climbed up to the announcer’s box, to make sure they got it right.

“I felt better too, because it was such a big accomplishment to finish Ironman Coeur d’Alene, so I didn’t want her to be recognized as someone from the United States when she was the only other person from the Ukraine,” Oskar said.

The other Ironman Coeur d’Alene competitor from the Ukraine was second-place men’s pro finisher and three-time Ironman Coeur d’Alene champion Viktor Zyemtsev.

Also thanks to Oskar, Prystayko and her coach, Vadym Tkachuk, learned how to play a sport they’d never heard of before while in Coeur d’Alene.

The teen taught the pair how to play lacrosse, and Tkachuk learned quickly. Oskar said that within two hours, the trainer was playing like he’d been playing for years.

“It was really fun to be able to share that experience about something that’s a big part of my life with somebody who has never heard of it before,” Oskar said.

Tkachuk, who understands but doesn’t speak much English, competed in the modern pentathlon in the Olympics twice. He placed fifth in the event in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. Before retiring several years ago, Tkachuk won several world championships in events sanctioned by the UIPM (Union International de Pentathlon Moderne).

Miller’s husband, Craig Owens, and Vadym quickly discovered they have something in common that superseded any language barrier — a love of hunting.

When Vadym saw antlers hanging on the wall, he showed Owens a photo of his own trophy antlers back in the Ukraine. When Vadym and Prystayko discovered venison in Owens’ freezer, they prepared traditional Ukrainian meatballs for their host family.

“I want to go over there to the Ukraine and go hunting,” Owens said.

Oskar said he was surprised by the answer he received when he asked Prystayko what it takes to be a professional triathlete, an Ironman.

She said, “Education.”

Prystayko holds a degree in journalism and a degree from a “sports university” in the Ukraine, where Olympic and professional athletes are educated in all aspects of physical education. She is currently working on a doctorate in that field.

“Education is important in everything,” Prystayko said. “Because sports is about your body, and your mind, you must be a good coach for yourself. You must be a doctor for yourself ... If you want to play a sport, you don’t need education. If you want to be the best, you need to be well-educated.”