Categorized | Multi-sport, Sports

Ironman triathlon lottery closes Feb. 28

MEDIA RELEASE

Every year, 200 lucky athletes find themselves with the opportunity of a lifetime at the Ford Ironman World Championship via the Ironman Lottery Program. Will you be among them? 

The deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 5:59pm Hawaii time.

The lottery changes the lives of the people who manage to win one of the coveted spots to the world’s most prestigious and challenging one-day endurance event, the Ford Ironman World Championship.

Last year Jim Blinkhorn was one of the lucky lottery winners who got to toe the line in Kona last year.

Jim Blinkhorn (Photo courtesy of Ironman)

Jim Blinkhorn (Photo courtesy of Ironman)

To say Ironman changed his life is a bit of an understatement: As Matthew Dale reported last year, “The man who once couldn’t chase after a squash ball for more than 20 minutes without calling it quits knows how lucky he is.”

For days after the lottery news arrived, Blinkhorn admitted, “I’ve just been dancing around.”

His sister called and said, “You’re still walking on clouds, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Blinkhorn replied. “Pretty much.”

John Wragg was another lottery winner in 2008 for whom the luck of the draw fulfilled a dream. While Wragg has completed over 100 Ironmans, among them a few in Kona, it looked for a while last summer as though he might never walk again, let alone finish an Ironman. 

Wragg was hit by a car while cycling last June. Among the many injuries he suffered was a broken pelvis. Doctors told him he might never walk again, let alone run, let alone run a marathon to finish up an Ironman. 

Wragg not only finished Subaru Ironman Canada a few months after his accident, he also finished Ironman Wisconsin and then managed a 15:56 on the Big Island. 

Not his best time, but very likely his most satisfying finish.

— Find out more:

Ironman Lottery Program: http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1608973&assetId=4c6a3ca9-4cb5-4cb5-4c89-bd83-ff10fd42b1bb

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