John Maclean - Ironman Champion, English Channel Swimmer, Former Professional Rugby Player, and Paralyzed Athlete Who Has Completed a Triathlon without a Wheelchair.

Chris Waddell Living It

John was a professional rugby player and aspiring triathlete during the off-season when an eight-ton truck hit him as he trained on his bike. Medical experts set his chances at “pine or mahogany” and told the family not to expect him to make it through the day. John made it through that day. When he emerged from the coma, he asked about his bike, which had lost significance since he’d now use a wheelchair. Months of treatment and therapy eventually brought him to rebuilding his former self. As he lifted weights with his mate, his father asked, “How far can you go?” Far went well beyond pine box or mahogany. In over twelve hours of swimming, cycling, and wheelchair racing, John became the first paraplegic to meet all the cut-off times as an official finisher of the Kona Ironman. Then he swam the English Channel, the world’s busiest shipping lane, in twelve hours and fifty-five minutes. Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, a Paralympic Medal, and learning to walk again well enough to finish the original triathlon for which he was training when the truck met his bike. And there’s another challenge on the horizon.