Saturday, January 17, 2009

Ironman Championship 2008

Yes, there's one for triathlons, too.

There are many Ironman events around the globe. Just to name a few, there is one in China, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Lake Placid, France, Frankfurt, Canada, Switzerland, and, yes, even Louisville, Kentucky if you can believe it. The championship race happens in Kona, in Hawaii every year.

At the very end of this post, you'll find a link to the hour-long NBC special about Kona this past year. Even if you're not that into triathlons, it's just spectacular story-telling, and I promise you you won't be bored.

The lady who won the women's race is Chrissie Wellington. She had a flat tire, lost her CO2, had to rely on the kindness of another competitor to give her hers and came back after losing 5 minutes on the bike to win the thing.

There's the story of a former motorcross champ Ricky James. Because of an accident he became a paraplegic. He was racing his first IM.

A Navy SEAL, David Goggins, was racing to raise money for kids of fallen comrades. He said that a Navy SEAL holding a bake sale just wouldn't cut it. He needed "something medieval" to do so he picked the IM. A Major League Baseball player, Jeff Conine, was a competitor as well.

But, probably my favorite story is of Harriet Anderson, a 72 year old racing her 17th IM. I've decided that I want to be her when I grow up.

So, enjoy, be inspired and, as always, thanks for stopping by.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/52585/ford-ironman-world-championship-2008-ironman-world-championships?c=Sports

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was just watching IMWC on hulu before I read your blog! That 72 year old woman was amazing. Amazing motivation for us, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I could not make it through the entire show without crying. Especially at the end when they were showing all the age-groupers finishing. How much did that make you want to hear the words "You are an ironman!)

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing that link...I forwarded it on to some buddies :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...