Hawaii Ironman World Championships
1996
1998
The Ultimate, The Big One, The
Triathlon Pinnacle, The Kona Kahuna, The World's Toughest 1-Day Event
In 1995 I stood on
Ali'I Drive with a broken elbow and watched in awe as Mark Allen and
Thomas Hellriegal did the impossible. And I learned the seriousness
of the risks the leaders take as I watched Paula Newby Fraser
struggle helplessly on the pavement with the finish line in sight.
Pictures:
Paula, Thomas,
The Start |
In 1996, with the
words "Must Qualify" etched on my retina, I went to Keauhou
Triathlon and gave it all on the course. I was awarded 4th
place and a prized ticket to the Ironman!
See the
Keauhou Results and
Race Story
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On October 26th,
1996, I lined up at the swim start of the Ironman Triathlon World
Championship in Kona, surrounded by hundreds of the strongest
athletes in the world, and calmly started the longest and final step
of my Ironman dream.
See partial results and
picture of swim start
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In 1997, I took off
from running to mend damaged sesamoid bones in my feet. In
August I started training again with my
Epic Bike Ride for 1998
Hawaii Ironman. |
My
plan for 1998 was to qualify on the mainland (at Buffalo Springs
Lake, Desert Sun Half Ironman, or The MetRx Triathlon).
And to show God my appreciation for healing my injuries, my focus
was to let each person who asked about Ironman know that my strength
comes from God.
I qualified
at Buffalo Springs and headed to Kona with hopes of breaking
10hrs!On
October 3rd, 1998, I walked down into Kailua Bay for my
2nd Hawaii Ironman. 2 days earlier I was
baptized in these same Kona
waters. Now I was relaxed at the line of the start of the 20th
Anniversary of the Ironman World Championships. My
friend, Kevin, was experiencing his first Ironman Dream. This
time around I was stronger... but so were the winds...
read the story
"Survived 50mph winds and nauseous stomach at Hawaii to be 21st
Californian and
301st overall"
Sitting
1999 Out. In order to be in top shape for the next Hawaii
Ironman, I'm waiting until 2000. But I look forward to
watching some friends race the 1999 event. It will surely
motivate me for the following Y2K year!
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