Adele Pushes Rahm Emanuel ‘Over the Wall’ at Chicago Triathlon

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that he wouldn’t have been able to finish the Chicago Triathlon last weekend if it wasn’t for the help of Adele. No, Adele wasn’t standing on the sidelines cheering the former White House Chief of Staff to the finish line, but the song “Rolling in the Deep” helped Emanuel push himself over the proverbial wall to a ninth place finish for his age group.

Emanuel said that he listened to Adele’s music while training for the triathlon and that he heard the song “Rolling in the Deep” on the radio before he stepped out of his car to join the start of the race, something that the Chicago Mayor said was a good omen.

While talking on Chicago rock radio station WXRT, Emanuel said:

“We do what my security and I call ‘the blowup.’ The windows and sunroof go open, we crank it up, and we sing along with Adele. It was a moment of fate for me.”

Emanuel, 51, finished 9th in his age group, which consisted of 80 other competitors. The Chicago Triathlon consists of a .75 kilometer swim (.46 miles), a 22-kilometer bike ride (13.6 miles) and a 5-kilometer run (3.1 miles). More than 10,000 people participated in the Chicago triathalon, which was held along Lake Shore Drive.

Emanuel said:

“You may say I’m unfit to be mayor, but you can never say I’m an unfit mayor.”

Rahm Emanuell competed in the sprint portion of the Chicago Triathlon and finished with a 1:36 time, with thanks of course, to Adele.