The relentless drive to fulfill a dream

WARWICK — Warwick resident Louis Tafuto works day in and day out to fulfill a dream he’s had since childhood.

Tafuto dreams of winning a gold medal in the triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

But the path to the Olympics is a hard one, requiring four or five hours of rigorous training every day. And there are no sponsors until or if he wins in the Olympics. He does not have access to any specialized facilities.

There are no days off.
“I will work as hard as I can to get there,” said Tafuto, “One of my high school coaches once told me that if you love what you’re doing you will never have to work a day in your life. I really see this as play.”

Tafuto is doing it all relentlessly; daily and hourly, all on his own. But he can’t do it now without the necessary tools for success like running shoes, racing uniform, tires, and the like.

Fund raising
Just this year alone, he will need to raise almost $8,000 and total expenses could approach $100,000.

Enter Lawrence Polsky, a neighbor and friend, who wants to make Tafuto’s Olympic vision come true.

“I strongly believe in helping Louis,” said Polsky. “He’s a great guy who has helped me a lot over the past year. It’s amazing to me that Louis just lives down the street and is running with me and coaching me for free. He has become a friend. And I am inspired by the determination he has to get to the Olympics.”

Polsky recently organized a fund-raising campaign, which ends at midnight on May 11. That’s because a few days later, Tafuto will move to Colorado to be near his Olympic coach and the Olympic Training Center.

(Campaign details and up-to-the minute results are available at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/louis-olympic-dream.)

After graduating from New York Institute of Technology with a degree in architecture, Tafuto, who had always been passionate about long distance running, decided to fulfill his dream of competing in the Olympics. But his dreams were dashed when he evaluated the level of performance achieved by the incredibly talented runners coming out of many African countries.

His best didn’t match their worst.

Redefining the dream
In that moment of reality he was thrust into a decision that would direct the rest of his life. Try to make a career out of his new architectural degree or find a new way to get into the Olympics.

By applying the skill and endurance required for long distance running to his years of training in swimming and biking, he would have a good chance to win a gold medal in the triathlon.

However, years ago, when he was in high school, an unforeseen event might have shattered that dream.

While training on his bike one day, Tafuto was hit by a car.

After pulling rocks and glass out of his back for nearly two hours, doctors said he would need at least three months to heal his fractured hip. That was enough time off to take him out of any national championships.

What would he do?
“He made it an emotional spring board for a new level of performance,” reported Polsky. “Louis decided that a physical challenge of this magnitude was greater than anything he would ever face in a race. So he decided to get back to training within two days.

Yes, within two days of having a head-on collision with a car, Louis was training again; biking, swimming, and running.”

‘He wanted it - inside’
In those days, however, swimming was not his forte.

“Louis came to us and was not a good swimmer at all,” said Warwick Valley High School Varsity swimming Coach John Quinn. “He said he was doing triathlons and wanted to get better. Louis ended up being one of our strongest swimmers. He was the anchor for the 200-meter relay high school record holders up until two years ago. How did he do it? He wanted it - inside.”

Polsky, who is a managing partner with a consulting firm that specializes in maximizing team performance, is well-qualified to identify leadership qualities.

“Louis,” he said, “represents the immeasurable power and strength one person can have when they commit to their passion, when they invoke all of their internal emotions, when they surround themselves with others on the path, and when they go for it with relentless drive.”

By Roger Gavan