Father Mike Bartholomew Of Immaculate Conception Church In Westhampton Beach Competes In Masters Racewalk Overseas

Father Mike Bartholomew fulfilled one of his biggest dreams when he donned a Team U.S.A. uniform and competed internationally in the racewalk at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Malaga, Spain, a few weeks ago.

The pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Westhampton Beach and dean of the Peconic Deanery, which encompasses both North and South forks, Father Bartholomew, 37, competed in the 5K racewalk on a track on September 6, then competed in the 10K racewalk on a road course on September 10. Competing in the age group for men age 35 to 39, Father Bartholomew placed sixth in the 5K in 33:29 and then placed 58th overall, 17th in his age group, after finishing the 10K in 1:07:11, helping Team U.S.A. place fourth overall.

Having first visited Malaga with his mother, Fran Bartholomew, when he was 15 back in 1996, and having studied abroad in Madrid back in 2002 when he also trained with the Spanish National Team, Father Bartholomew enjoyed his return back to the country, this time with his father, Mike Bartholomew.

“Overall [the] experience was excellent,” he said. “It has me excited for the future and hopefully in two years I can race again when World Masters Athletics Championships are in Toronto. Maybe then I will be in much better shape and able to race all three distances—5,000 meters on track and 10K and 20K on the road.”

Although it was the first time he competed overseas, Father Bartholomew is no stranger to racewalking. A cross country and track runner since his sophomore year at St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington, Father Bartholomew started competing in the mile racewalk his senior year, but then ran cross country at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Due to injuries his freshman and sophomore years, Father Bartholomew went back to the racewalk in 2000, the same year the country’s top racewalker, Tim Seaman, competed for Team U.S.A. at the Sydney Olympics. Not long after Seaman, a North Babylon resident, returned home from Sydney, he and Father Bartholomew went on a training walk and it was then that Seaman convinced Father Bartholomew that he should train for a 50K—one of two Olympic distances—so that’s what he did. After just eight weeks of training, Father Bartholomew placed as high as 12th in the country in the 50K and was the youngest racewalker in that distance at just 20 years old.

Over the next 10 years or so, Father Bartholomew pursued a dream of competing in the Olympics, even through seminary. Although he never achieved that dream, he did compete on the U.S. national team in the 50K in both 2005 and 2006, placing seventh and sixth in the country, respectively, before just missing making the Olympic Trials in 2008.

The WMA Championships are a “pay and you go” event, as Father Bartholomew put it, so he didn’t have to try out to be able to go, but even so, there was good competition and it was the largest competition he had ever been involved in. There were more than 8,200 athletes representing more than 100 countries in more than 30 events. It was Father Bartholomew’s first competition since 2010.

Since peak performance for racewalkers tends to be between the ages of 28 and 45, Father Bartholomew is hoping he continues to improve.

“Obviously, going into Spain I knew my fitness wasn’t great. The goal, really, was just finish, and that really completed the dream in a certain way,” he said. “I had a lot of friends there and it was great to see them again. It was a great experience and the atmosphere was tremendous.”