“TRIATHLON GAVE ME HOPE”
Three years after a near-fatal car crash, Brian Boyle raced at the Ironman Worlds. Here’s his story
I grew up watching the Hawaii Ironman on TV. I remember saying to my dad when I was five, ‘that looks scary’. I loved the spirit, the stories and the sense of challenge. I grew up with the hope and goal that one day, I’d do an Ironman.
When I got to Kona, I reflected on my journey. I wanted to finish this race, to live a dream. When the canon went off, my heart was racing, my blood was pumping – the signs that I’m not dying, I’m living, here on the world stage.
In 2004, when I was 18, I was driving home from swim practice when I was hit by a speeding truck. I had catastrophic injuries: shattered pelvis and ribs, collapsed lungs, and the rest of me lacerated or damaged. I immediately went for surgery on my heart, liver, kidneys and lungs to get the blood flow back into my body.
I was in hospital in a coma, I had 36 blood transfusions, plasma treatments, and 14 operations – every minute was critical. The medical staff brought in all my friends and family and told them to say their goodbyes, as it wasn’t looking good for me.
It was a rollercoaster, I learned to blink, move my toes and fingers, smile and talk again. Every day seemed to take forever – but every day was an improvement.
Ironman was still lingering. I thought: ‘If I can do it, I’m fully healed.’ There were so many complications with my heart and organs that the doctors told me to live every day to the full and chase my dreams. I couldn’t pass up the invitation to attempt Kona so I just trained as best I could.
It was about taking small steps, like in hospital. I had to stay positive, and focus on what was going well in training, even though not much was! But Ironman Hawaii was one of the best days of my life.
Nearing the finish line I felt nervous, overwhelmed and happy. It was one of those tunnel-vision moments where everything stops; I was finally healed, it was amazing.
“It’s taught me not to focus on injuries, but what I can accomplish”
Triathlon has given me so much. From lying in hospital on the darkest days of my life, to racing Ironmans – it’s given me hope and taught me not to focus on injuries, setbacks and limitations, but to think about what I can accomplish.
Writing books helped me recover and get the closure I couldn’t from physical therapy. I had to relive moments and dig deep to get the details out. It provided a release.
I’ve done six Ironmans since 2007, my goal is to qualify for Kona on my own ability. Just to finish a race is spectacular, but it would be amazing to go sub-10 hours at Ironman. Every day is progress.