Lauren Jensen McGinnis

Great outcomes happen when you combine the expert care from the Physicians at the Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital with the resiliency of an incredibly hard working athlete. This is the case with our Athlete of the Month, Lauren Jensen McGinnis, who recently became the ITU Sprint Triathlon World Champion in the 50-54 Age Group. Lauren is the Head Coach of the MOSH sponsored Team Tri Faster, and she recently had the honor of representing Team USA at the Triathlon World Championships held Sept 13, 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.

Lauren faced some challenges during her training leading up to the World Championship event. In November of 2017, Lauren tore her right medial meniscus which was surgically repaired by Dr. Pifel that December. Lauren worked hard to rehabilitate her knee, but just as she was regaining her fitness she experienced another injury. In May of 2018 she rolled her ankle on a rock while running, and sustained a second degree sprain with a small fracture that was successfully treated by Dr. Guehlstorf. This started Lauren on a new path of rehabilitation and creative adaptations in her training.

Even though her physical preparation was compromised, she spent an incredible amount of time on mental readiness. Race day was an exciting blur, and Lauren raced all out from start to finish. She emerged out of a challenging swim in turbulent water in second place closely followed several competitors that had been swimming in her draft, but with a one-minute deficit to the Canadian who was leading. She used her cycling strength on a technical course to take over the lead just over halfway through the ride. Lauren’s mental preparation kicked in on the run to compensate for her disrupted run training. She was able to hold off her peers and cross the finish-line 52 seconds ahead of her next competitor. Lauren was thrilled to achieve her long time goal of becoming a Triathlon World Champion, which she could not have done without the World Championship care that she received from the MOSH Physicians.