Brothers Conquer Ironman Event in Hawaii
Courtesy of Able News
Brent and Kyle Pease of Georgia recently became the second-ever wheelchair duo assist team to complete in the Ironman World Championship, a single-day endurance event that was held in Hawaii.
The brothers are founders of the Kyle Pease Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled through sports. The ironman gave them a sense of personal achievement as well as an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for the foundation.
They finished the 140.6-mile race and competed among 2,400 of the world’s toughest athletes at the race’s 40th anniversary event. Prior to the event, they followed an intense 14-week training schedule that consisted of more than 280 combined hours of swimming, biking, running and strength training.
“The past three and a half months training for the Ironman World Championship have been the hardest, yet most rewarding in my life,” said Brent Pease, executive director of the foundation. “This has been a dream of mine since I completed my first ironman in 2010. To be able to compete with Kyle while raising money for a cause that is so near and dear to my heart, makes it that much more magical.”
Unlike most races featuring wheelchair-related athletes who start at the front, the Pease brothers followed the other elite competitors into the water. Last to start, they had to finish within the same 17-hour time limit that is applicable to the able-bodied participants. Using custom-built gear, Brent pulled Kyle 2.4 miles across the Kailua Bay in a swim boat, which was secured to his waist. Once on land again, Brent transitioned Kyle for the 112- mile ride along the lava fields in an adapted bike.
They finished with Brent pushing Kyle in a running chair for the 26.2-mile run.
“The Pease brothers truly exemplify the IRONMAN mantra that anything is possible, not only by their proven physical and mental abilities, but by their compassion and dedication to empower athletes of all abilities to compete,” said Sarah Hartmann, acting executive director of the Ironman Foundation.
The Kyle Pease Foundation supports athletes across the county in various ways, including scholarship opportunities, purchasing adaptive sports equipment, and participating in educational campaigns pertaining to cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
Kyle has spastic quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, a neurological condition that creates a stiffness in muscles that limits his mobility. He has used a wheelchair since he was a young child.
“Since we started this journey in 2011, it’s been our dream to compete in the Ironman World Championship,” said Kyle, foundation cofounder. “It’s not only a chance to race in the same field as some of the most athletically fit people in the world, but it also gives us a global platform to show that the inclusion of disabled persons in endurance sports create a path to permanent change well beyond the finish line.
Competing alongside my brother against the best athletes in the sport will be one of the greatest moments of my life.”