What an amazing performer.  Marino Vanhoenacker, the Belgian champion triathlete, has just secured his fifth consecutive victory at Ironman Austria.  And it wasn’t a cheapie either.  Vanhoenacker crushed the second place finisher and with his sub-8-hour time, clocking the fourth fastest Ironman time ever.  Wow !

The Ironman triathlon is one of the most grueling organized sports competitions I can imagine.  Just finishing the race represents an heroic athletic achievement, and I hold in tremendous esteem those individuals that manage to successfully complete one.  Of course, professional triathletes like Vanhoenacker compete in several such competitions yearly.  These heroes are essentially superhuman.  Often, only seconds, or at most a few minutes, separate the winner from the runner-up during the approximately 8-hour Ironman ordeal.  The winner of an Ironman is thus usually decided on minor details, such as how well the triathlete slept the night before, technical nuances in their equipment, their nutritional regime during the race, or how freshly shaved their legs are.

I was fortunate enough to meet Vanhoenacker in July 2006, when he won his second consecutive Ironman Austra.  Two in a row is incredible.  I liken it to hitting two grand slam home runs in a major league baseball game.  Possible, but very rare.

Three in a row, the threshhold just attained by reigning Ironman Hawaii women’s champion, Chrissie Wellington, is mind-boggling.  To return to the baseball analogy, it’s almost like a pitcher throwing no-hitters in back-to-back starts.

Little did I know when I met him that Vanhoenacker had at least another three victories at Klagenfurt, Austria.  Stupendous !