Ironman's Superheros

Check out these real-life heroes from the world of Ironman

You want heroes? Here at Ironman, we have more than our fair share of real-life heroes who don't need special effects or animation to do the impossible. No one personifies those traits more than Rick and Dick Hoyt.

These people do their superhuman feats on sheer guts and tenacity. They have all completed 2.4 miles of swimming, 112-miles on a bike and a 26.2 mile marathon run at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. They have overcome not only their own physical challenges, they have taken on the incredible heat and wind of Kona, known as the Big Island, and they have won. They inspire us every day and prove that "Anything in Possible." Read on to learn more about some of Ironman's most famous competitors:

Sarah Reinertsen's Ironman journey was every bit as dramatic. As a young girl, with a poorly developed leg, she was told to go and kick a ball against a wall instead of being able to play soccer with her friends. When she did finally lose her leg, instead of wallowing in despair, she took on the challenge of becoming a runner. Now Sarah Reinertsen is the only female above-the-knee amputee who has ever finished the Ford Ironman World Championship, and later this year she'll be back again. Click here
to read more.

No one thought that a man in a wheelchair could finish the Ironman until an Australian rugby player named John McLean did just that in 1997. Maclean completed the event in 1995 and 1996, but it wasn’t until 1997 when he was able to “officially” finish the race by completing the bike section before the bike cut off time.

In 1995 Maclean’s struggle during the race was captured by NBC cameras. During one particularly tough climb, one where Maclean would actually have to turn his wheelchair around and ascend the hill backwards, his close friend Johnno Young said to him: “The pain won’t last forever, but the memories will.” Truer words have never been spoken. You can read more about John McLean here

When celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the Ford Ironman World Championship, TJ Murphy profiled some of the sports heroes to that point. Click here  to read his story.

The stories are endless. Every year 1,700 heroes compete at the Ford Ironman World Championship. Stay tuned to Ironman.com for more of their stories.