COEUR d'ALENE - The first syllable in "triathlon" is "tri."

It is also the first syllable in "triumph," which is what four individuals did when they crossed the finish line of the 32nd annual Coeur d'Alene Triathlon on a beautiful Saturday morning.

They triumphed over tragedy, physical disability, obesity and injury. And as the athletes in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon Club's sponsored athlete program, Bryan Langford, Les Dooley, Jenny Duncan and Tom Yager began their journeys together.

"Having them all train for the same race together has been really cool because you see them progress, but you also see them go through the same stuff as far as taking their first swim class," said Megan Leary, Coeur d'Alene Tri Team director and mentor. "You see them all from the base starting point to now and it's been awesome."

The sponsored athlete program invites those who have experienced a challenge in life - cancer, weight problems, mental health issues and more - to be a club member, train with coaches and become the athletes they've always wanted to be as they participate in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon.

"People have to be looking for something and be able to sink their teeth into it and just go after it," said Langford, 39, of Hayden.

Langford experienced the excruciating pain of losing his 8-year-old son four years ago. His son was severely epileptic and frequently in and out of the hospital.

"He had seizures constantly, so a lot of the firemen around town and the EMS guys, we called him his buddies," Langford said.

His journey has been a healing one. He attended Parker's Place, a grief camp for families who have lost a child to chronic illness or tragedy, after his son died.

"It was a total godsend, saved our family kind of thing," he said. "It was amazing."

The fundraiser for the camp is a 10K race, which Langford attended the following year. He has since participated in the Hayden Marathon, raced in two of the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon's Scenic Sprints, completed his first Olympic triathlon in Saturday's race and is contemplating becoming an Ironman next year. He placed 215 overall and ninth in his age group.

"It's just a huge therapy for me to get out," he said. "You just have to get away from everything sometimes."

Dooley also understands the pain of loss, however, in a different context. He lost his pinkie finger in an accident at work that almost claimed the rest of his right hand.

"In June of '98 I severed my right hand," said Dooley, 62, of Rathdrum. "I unknowingly put it in a dangerous situation. I put my hand where it didn't belong."

His hand was smashed by a cement truck gate valve, injuring him so severely he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

"The surgeon said, 'I don't know if we can save it,'" he said. "I went into surgery not knowing if I would have a hand after. It was not my best day."

While he has recovered a manageable amount of function, he has learned to live without his little finger on his dominant right hand. He since has also been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but despite these hardships, he maintains a positive attitude. He trained and participated in the race with his granddaughter and completed his first Olympic individual triathlon, placing 328th overall and fifth in his age category. He is also considering moving on to even bigger races such as Ironman.

"My hopes are to continue training to work up to that," Dooley said. "I am just so thankful for all the help that has come along."

A different story of loss belongs to Duncan, who shed 325 pounds and was beaming as she discussed her metamorphosis.

"I was morbidly obese from the age of 5," said Duncan, 34, of Coeur d'Alene. "In 2004, I reached the weight of 509.6 pounds and I joined Weight Watchers, decided that I was going to get healthy and change my life."

Duncan said it took her a few years to muster the courage to apply for the sponsored athlete program, but she's happy she finally did because even when she still weighed 480 pounds, she knew she would become a triathlete someday and she did not give up. It was painful and many times discouraging, but she kept going. She placed 204th overall and third in her gender, division and age place.

"This is my first step toward my Ironman journey," she said. "It's amazing to have gone this far."

Duncan recently found out she will be a guest on "The Dr. Oz Show" to tell her amazing story. She said it will air in September.

"One of my slogans is, 'I don't want to be a star, I want to inspire people to reach for the stars,'" Duncan said. "I just want to teach people that you can absolutely do this, it's just a matter of the right steps and the right tools and keeping going, not giving up even on the rough days, because it does get rough."

Yager's journey to the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon began two years ago when doctors verbalized that he had a chronic spinal injury.

"That happened when I was fighting fires for the Forest Service," said Yager, 24, of Coeur d'Alene. "I couldn't sit in a chair for more than five minutes."

The L1-L5 compression in his vertebrae occurred through three years of firefighting. While he has not needed surgery to rectify this painful condition, he does receive weekly adjustments and sometimes must go in more than once in a week. He will probably deal with the injury the rest of his life.

"I have a really good team of doctors," he said.

Yager said he ran competitively before his injury and racing has always been big in his family. He wasn't expecting to be chosen as a sponsored athlete, but he was excited when he got the news. As his training continued, he realized he is still capable of athletic feats. His race place was no. 284 and fifth in his age category.

"As the summer has progressed I realized I am really good at it," he said before the race. "I'm looking to finish top five in my age group."

The Coeur d'Alene Triathlon took athletes for a swim in lake Coeur d'Alene, a bike ride along the lake and a run east on the Centennial trail. Participants chose between the Olympic Distance, Sprint Triathlon or Duathlon.

Race director Scott Ward reported that 575 athletes competed in this year's triathlon. He said everything went really well, thanks to the more than 100 volunteers and the community, and it was a perfect day for a race.

"It's such a great all-around race for the novice, the beginner, the intermediate to the highly competitive," he said. "You will not find a better venue in the country."

Race results: www.atltiming.com/results/2015/cda-triathlon.html