Almost anywhere you go in our local community, you’ll find some kind of Fairport swag with the Red Raider head grinning back at you. Thanks to Brooks Hill physical education teacher Lynne Leary, that community now stretches across the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Leary brought a symbol of the Raider Nation along on a journey of her own: to place 16th in her age group at the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Finals in Pontevedra, Spain.

 

“As a fourth-generation Red Raider,” Leary said, “bringing a Raider Nation flag with me was a meaningful way to represent my hometown and put our community on the map internationally.”

 

“Representing the US and competing alongside incredible women…has been an unforgettable, humbling experience. Standing on an international stage with ‘USA’ on my uniform made every early morning and hard training session completely worth it.”

 

After competing for more than 20 years to chase the “unique mental and physical challenge” of triathlons, Leary says she envisioned her Brooks Hill students cheering her on across the finish line. She urges that dreams work when you work toward them, and that, “there’s a sport or activity for everyone.” Knowing how to believe in yourself and your skills, she believes, is imperative.

 

“Even after reaching a high level in sport, it’s easy to feel like others are still better than you,” she says in summation. “Today, I can finally say that I’m good at what I do, and I belong here. With hard work and perseverance, you belong, too. Believe in yourself, and you will go far.”

 

Spain is one of several destinations on the Raider Nation flag’s world tour. Brooks Hill sentry Todd Frank, a Master Sergeant with the Air National Guard, brought the flag on a mission to Antarctica in the winter of 2024, then above the Arctic Circle in Greenland the summer after.

 

ABOVE: Brooks Hill’s Lynne Leary holds a Raider Nation Flag in Spain

 

BELOW: Brooks Hill’s Todd Frank holds a Raider Nation Flag at McMurdo Station in Antarctica