A focus on Mark Herremans

marc herremans de 32 años es un atleta paraolìmpico , paralizado del pecho para abajo , que hace 4 era un triatleta que entrenaba en Lanzarote el triatlòn Ironman y se cayò bajando el monte harìa. Ahora participa en la categorìa de sillas de ruedas y hace el recorrido igual que los demàs , nada 3,8km , bici de manos 180km y 42,2km de maratòn en silla de ruedas
descripciòn en inglès..


“Life’s only limitations are the ones we make – its all in the mind and nothing is impossible!”
Marc Herreman of Belgium is one of the most incredible athletes in the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias. The 32 year old is paralysed from the chest down and will compete in the handcycle division. During the race Marc will pass the location where he broke his back in an accident four years ago. He rode down mount Haria while training for the Ironman.

Imagine, 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles with the handcycle and 26 miles with the racing wheelchair on one of the hardest courses– using just your arms! You gotta see his biceps, Popeye would be jealous! And the handcycle athletes compete under the same rules like all the other athletes. I remember in the Ironman Hawaii 2004, there were probably just two athletes happy about their penalties, because it showed that they get no special care. Carlos Moleda the winner in the handcycle division got a penalty for passing a cyclist too slow in an uphill part and Marc Herremans got one for drafting – behind a cyclist…

Marc’s preparation for Ironman Lanzarote was better than for any other Ironman before. He spent a lot of time on Lanzarote with Ironman record holder Luc van Lierde and Dirk van Gossum, winner of the Ironman Lanzarote 2000. “We did a lot of training together. My training schedule is pretty much the same like the one of Luc and Dirk. In swimming and cycling I’m a bit slower but in the run workouts I’m as fast in my racing wheelchair, like my two buddies.” A day before the race Marc only worries about the weather conditions: “I’m a little nervous because of the strong wind we had in the last days. With the handcycle its more difficult in the strong wind than with any other bike. I wanted to finish the race below 14 hours, but if we have on race day the same wind that’s very difficult.”

Most athletes have to put some smaller gears on their bike, if they don’t want to push their bikes up the steep hills in Lanzarotes. So imagine going up there only with your arms! “Its very, very hard on those hills – its killing you!” In the race Marc will pass the location where he broke his back four years ago in an accident. On January 28. 2002, while training on Lanzarote for the Ironman, he crashed his bike, riding down mount Haria. Just some months after his successful debut at the Ironman world championships in Hawaii, where he became 6th overall, he was paralysed from the chest down. “The hardest part of the race for me is definitely mount Haria, not only because of the physical challenge. It’s still emotional for me to pass by there, but it gets every time a little easier. And I’m a person who can gain strength out of emotions. Only the first six months after my accident were very difficult and emotional. Since then I just became stronger.” Marc already started training again for Ironman during rehabilitation and was at the starting line in Hawaii, just 8 month after his accident. He founded the foundation “To Walk Again” and is the organiser of the “Marc Herremans classic” a half Ironman race of the 70.3 series. He says: “Life’s only limitations are the ones we make – its all in the mind and nothing is impossible!”

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http://www.marcherremans.be/
http://www.ironmanlanzarote.com/
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medio ironman la española
Virginia Berasategui ha ganado esta mañana en la localidad de Wiesbaden el medio IRONMAN 70.3 GERMANY.
Distancia:
1.2 mi. swim • 56 mi. bike • 13.1 mi. run


Toda la información y resultados los tenéis en:

http://www.ironmanlive.com/events/ironman70.3/germany70.3?show=leaderboard&y=2007

Men's Leaderboard: Germany 70.3

NAME DIFFERENTIAL
Finish
1. Stephan Bignet 04:06:53
2. Alessandro Degasperi 04:11:04
3. Nils Goerke 04:13:59


Women's Leaderboard: Germany 70.3

NAME DIFFERENTIAL
Finish
1. Virginia Berasategui 04:44:29
2. Wenke Kujala 04:47:27
3. Andrea Brede 04:58:59