Ten months ago when Jean-Baptiste asked me to compete in an Ironman Triathlon with him my first reaction was “you are crazy … no way”. However when JB said we would compete and use this challenge to raise money for my son’s Syndrome and build much needed awareness for children with Pallister-Killian Syndrome (PKS) there was no way I could say no and the journey started.
As soon as friends discovered the cause, the outpouring of support was truly unbelievable and what started out as two mates quickly turned into a team inspired to take on the physical and emotional challenge for Jax and the Tri4Jax team was borne.
After many months of training, the Phuket Ironman 70.3 Triathlon was finally raced on Sunday 26 November. The Tri4Jax race team consisted of Guillaume Rondy, Jean-Baptiste Le Blan, Trent Standen, Tom Lister, Tom Deakin and Michael Parsons.
Jax was unfortunately not able to travel to Phuket due to a recent 29 day hospital admission with his doctors not allowing the travel risk. The team however ventured to Phuket with Jax’s fighting and courageous spirit and with the will to do the very best for Jax and the Pallister-Killian Syndrome Foundation of Australia.
The Triathlon attracted more than 1,200 competitors from over 60 countries, with some world class athletes hoping to qualify for World Champs in South Africa and special race slots for Kona in Hawaii. It was always going to be a super competitive race with 40 Professional Athletes setting us off on a 1.9km ocean swim. Guillaume exited the water first with a lighting swim closely followed by Trent, JB, Michael, Tom and Jon.
Due to the slippery roads it would be the 90km bike course that defined the day for many athletes but we never thought it would be the bike leg that ended the race for Guillaume. After setting a personal record pace it was at the 55km mark that a reckless driver hit Guillaume with his car while he was riding at close to 45km per hour causing Guillaume to hit the road heavily. Thankfully there were no broken bones but the cuts, bruising and damage to his bike meant Guillaume was hospital bound but remarkably Guillaume was able to return to the track to cheer the team on … in pain but with a smile and amazing team spirit. A tyre puncture to Tom’s tyre didn’t end his day and with a little help was able to continue, finish the bike leg and head off on the 21km run leg.
Trent was first to finish with an amazing time of 4 hours 51 min closely followed by JB at 4 hours 52 min. Michael, Jon and Tom all competing in their first 70.3 Triathlon simply wanted to finish the race but were able to post times that made them very proud, Michael @ 5 hours 34 min, Jon @ 5 hours 55 min and Tom @ 6 hour 26 min.
Overall the race was truly incredible but served as only the backdrop to raising awareness and funds for the Pallister-Killian Syndrome Foundation of Australia. So it is from the bottom of our hearts that we say “THANK YOU SO MUCH” for your kind and generous donations to our cause, without you the impact would not be as significant and meaningful.
As of 28 November we have raised in excess of AU$52,000 … money that will go directly to research and providing much needed support to families who raise a child with the crippling PKS condition: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/159229/tri4jax
Your love and support was always with us and it made all the hours training and the race itself that much more special and enjoyable and we send our love back to you and your families.
Finally we would like to say a few special thank you shout out’s …
Firstly to our supporters who travelled to Phuket and those living in Phuket that came out to cheer us on… you know who you are. Having such vocal support whether it was before the race or at various stages during the race was honestly unbelievable. Your passion and drive certainly helped push us especially when the pain was intense … we love you guys.
To Fraser and the entire Novotel Surin team. Thank you for accommodating the team and making sure we were well feed, rested and looked after for the weekend … truly exceptional hospitality, we will be back!!
To Scoot Airlines for being so generous to fly the team to Phuket, we are so appreciative and grateful for your support allowing the team to arrive in perfect condition to compete.
To Tony and Connie for suppling the official Tri4Jax Supporter Shirts and Caps, this really provided great visual impact and seeing our supporters wearing the gear was a tremendous motivation.
To Colin for designing the Tri4Jax logo, thanks for giving us the symbol we were all so proud to wear, it was our guiding emblem and link to Jax and the cause.
And to our littlest team member Raffy who personally ran 3.81km, swam 400m and cycled 7.93km for Jax to smash his original “TriRafflon” goal and raised an additional AU$1,125 for the Pallister Killian Foundation of Australia. You can find out more about the amazing Raffy here: https://www.mycause.com.au/page/162439/help-raff-tri4jax
The team will continue to do whatever it can to raise awareness and funds for PKS moving forward and again thank you for being part of our journey to this point.
Kind Regards,
Michael, Christie and the Tri4Jax Team
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