Ironman back on O'ahu for fund-raiser
By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer
Joel Sampson takes longer than most people to transition from the swim segment in a triathlon. That's because he must hop up the beach, wipe sand from the stump of his leg, then attach a carbon fiber/titanium prosthesis that will propel him through the next 138 miles of biking and running.
Stephen Kozowyk photo
A congenital birth defect left the 31-year-old Kona resident with what most people might call a handicap. But his parents never let it be one. Instead, they introduced Sampson to new sports and encouraged him to make the most of his abilities.
Joel Sampson, who lost his right leg because of a birth defect, will compete in Ironman Revisited.
Today, Sampson is an accomplished triathlete, and one of nearly three dozen registered so far for the Aug. 25 "Ironman Revisited" — a fund-raiser that will recreate for the first time the original 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run Ironman event that took place on O'ahu more than two decades ago. (The event moved to the Big Island in 1981).
"On the most intense and personal level, (sports) helps you realize that you can do anything that you put your mind to," said Sampson, general manager of B & L Bike & Sports in Kona.
But with two young children and a $10,000 prosthesis that needs replacing every few years, he admits that funding his dream to compete in triathlons (he's completed two and one XTERRA off-road triathlon) would have been difficult without financial assistance.
Enter the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
The 5-year-old San Diego-based nonprofit organization has raised $2.7 million and distributed 875 grants for equipment, training and competition to athletes with physical disabilities.
Participating in the 10- to 14-hour event on O'ahu will give Sampson a chance to give back to the foundation and retrace the footsteps of 15 hardy pioneers, who, in 1978, started what has become a worldwide phenomenon.
• When: Aug. 25 • What: 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run on O'ahu • Entry fee: $1,250; limit 100 participants. • Information: 858-793-9293, or www.challengedathletes.org
Ironman Revisited participants pay $1,250 that will go to help athletes such as Sampson, and for the privilege of experiencing the same pain and unheralded glory as the original Ironmen.
Ironman Revisited:
During Ironman Revisited, roads will remain open and participants looking for aid stations will be disappointed — all food and water must come from friends or relatives driving the course, just as it did for athletes in the original Ironman.
Bob Babbitt, co-founder of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, said he hopes the event raises $60,000. His passion for the nonprofit group — as well as the Ironman, which he first raced in 1980 — engendered the idea for the Ironman Revisited fund-raiser.
"I want to create a perpetual event," said Babbitt, a San-Diego-based publisher of several multi-sport magazines, including Competitor and Triathlete. "It's the Ironman, but it's the Ironman in sort of a mellow way.
"This is our back-to-the-roots experience. Hawai'i is home to the sport, as is San Diego. It makes a lot of sense to us to bring this event there (to Hawai'i)."
The foundation's roots are tied to triathlon. In 1993, Jim MacLaren, one of the most accomplished amputee athletes in the world, having run a 3:16 marathon on a prosthetic leg, was hit by a truck during a triathlon and became a quadriplegic.
"The first thing that happens when you get injured is you lose your independence," said Babbitt, one of MacLaren's friends who organized a small triathlon in San Diego to raise $25,000 to purchase a specially equipped van for MacLaren.
The group raised $49,000 and gave MacLaren a fresh start. After three years of successful triathlon fund-raisers, they started the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
"Obviously, there was a need for an event that raised money not just for Jim, but for other athletes," said Babbitt.
While Ironman Revisited might remind many veterans of the "good old days," the real purpose will be epitomized in experienced triathletes who opted for a team effort this time.
The Big Island's Sampson will complete the run portion after arm amputee Jon Beeson swims the 2.4 miles without the aid of a prosthesis, and leg amputee Paul Martin, a 35-year-old Boulder, Colo., resident, bikes 112 miles.
Sampson said completing races that test able-bodied athletes boost his self-esteem. Struggling with and finishing a triathlon erases barriers in his life. Each time, he said, "It's like a rebirth."
