South magazine 76: Health & Wellness | Page 22

CHIT CH ATS SMALL/TALK With more than 40 metals, triathlete Yorilley “George” Moreno’s pro status has turned his dream into a full-time job SOUTHERN HEALTH The Triathlon God S Last February, Yorilley “George” Moreno officially earned his pro athlete status. Since then, he’s won more than 25 awards, crossed around 40 finish lines, and has trained for approximately 20 hours a week. Following in the footsteps of his father, who was on the national and Olympic team in Venezuela, Moreno has been pursuing his journey as a triathlete for the last five years. While there’s always been a thin line between eating healthy and performance eating, triathletes tend to look at their food as fuel. For Moreno, a three-hour bike ride causes him to lose a ton of nutrients and sweat out about 8 percent of his body weight. Sneaking in healthy greens is always helpful, but he credits the simple sugars in Coca- Cola and the sodium in ramen soup with keeping him balanced. While training alone has turned into a full-time job for him, he still swears triathlons are something for everyone. Moreno credits much of his success to Savannah. With help from local businesses like Perry Rubber, who has a Saturday cycling group, he got his start and it’s where he recommends anyone interested in taking on the challenge of a triathlon start. • WRITTEN BY JORDAN SAXON / PHOTO BY D. PAUL GRAHAM 20 SOUTH October | November 2018 December | January 2019