DES MOINES, Iowa -- Olympic triathlete Hunter Kemper said that while he hopes to win the weekend's Hy-Vee Triathlon, he also wants to raise awareness about a rare children's disease.

Ataxia-Telangiectasia is a genetic, disabling disease that's better known as AT. Kemper said he wants to work to help make sure that there is a cure.

"I wanted to race for something more than just myself," Kemper said.

Kemper has built a relationship with an Iowa family who's been dealing with AT.

"When I was in town (in April), I asked if there was an AT family I could see because there's not a whole lot of kids with this disease around the country," he said. "There happened to be one."

The Champion family has two daughters with AT, Paige and Alex. They were thrilled to meet with Kemper.

"How often do you get to meet a guy that's on the front of the Wheaties box not once, but twice now?" said Greg Champion.

Kemper has become a spokesman for the AT Children's Project.

"It's a children's disease, genetic, and it's fatal most of the time," Kemper said. "In fact, they're mostly wheelchair-bound by the age of 10."

Alex Champion also developed cancer, a common side effect of AT. After months of chemotherapy, she's now cancer-free.

"That's really great," Greg Champion said. "AT is really the bigger monster for our daughter, Alex, and for our daughter, Paige."

Kemper said his ultimate goal is to draw national attention to the disease and eventually find a cure.

"What we go through on race day is hard," he said. "It's physically challenging, but what they go through in everyday life is a challenge day to day, 24 hours a day."

Kemper and the Champions are setting up a booth at the Hy-Vee Triathlon expo to explain more about AT and the ways people can help. The expo runs from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m on Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday at Raccoon River Park.

Kemper said he also hopes to form a team for the AT Children's Project to compete in next year's Hy-Vee Triathlon.

Copyright 2009 by KCCI.com. All rights reserved.