Billy Monger Achieves Ironman Record for Double Amputees Despite Challenges

Billy Monger, the youngest double amputee to complete the Ironman World Championships course, reported nearing his breaking point while contending with jellyfish stings and strong crosswinds during his record-breaking Ironman performance for a double amputee at the World Championship. The 25-year-old ex-racing driver finished the 226.3km (140.6 mile) route in Kona, Hawaii, on Sunday, in a time of 14 hours 23 minutes 56 seconds, which was over two hours faster than the prior record. Monger finished the 3.8km swim in 1:07:29, the 180km cycling segment in 7:26:50, and the marathon run in 5:26:26. He stated that he “wouldn’t have dreamed in a million years” of surpassing the record by such a significant amount. “The mental strength required to do an event of such duration I think that, at times, was close to breaking me,” Monger conveyed to BBC Radio 5 Live. He added, “In the swim I got stung by a jellyfish in the first 100 metres. That set the tone for the pain that was going to come my way.” He further explained, “Then towards the end of the swim I got stung by an even bigger jellyfish. I was lucky because some people who get stung it can rule you out the race entirely.” Monger underwent leg amputations following his involvement in a nearly fatal collision during a race at Donington Park in 2017. Since then, he has transitioned into broadcasting, appearing in the BBC series Celebrity Race Across the World. In 2021, he completed Billy’s Big Challenge, an event where he traversed Britain by walking, cycling, and kayaking, collecting over £3m for Comic Relief. In addition to the jellyfish stings, Monger identified a specific juncture at 90km into the cycling leg as among the “moments where it was a real struggle.” “There was a really hard climb and that, with huge crosswinds coming into play and me being a double amputee and having my right leg generate most of my power, means that balance is affected,” he clarified. He added, “That was a bit of a struggle and I had to grind my way up the long steep hill.” Monger has one leg amputated above the knee and the other below. His prosthetic limbs underwent modifications to enhance running comfort. Upon commencing training, Surrey-born Monger encountered difficulty running 5km without experiencing discomfort from his prosthetics; however, the most significant alteration he implemented concerned his running technique. “We’ve had to reinvent through this whole journey, and whole process, how I run,” he elaborated. He continued, “When I first started running on prosthetic legs I would run in a conventional way, rather than circumduction which you might see from the way Paralympic runners run.” He concluded, “Eventually I went to that style of running and that changed the game for us.” Monger recognized that the prospect of representing Great Britain in the Para-triathlon at the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles is a potential future consideration for him. “Funnily enough, having spent a year of my life training for triathlon and the Kona Ironman, my trainers Mark and Will, they’ve been slowly drip feeding me a little bit of a hint here and there about LA in 2028,” he further stated. He continued, “It’s definitely something they’ve been just easing me into the thought process of, that that Paralympic Games is four years away but it could be a possibility.” He concluded, “I’ve loved the process of training for Kona and I’ve learnt a lot through this whole experience so I would definitely never say never.” Sandi Toksvig is accompanied by Gyles Brandreth, Lulu, Emmanuel Sonubi, and Alan Davies. Audiences can sing along to Queen, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, and other artists. Ben Fogle and Kate Humble return for the celebrations at Longleat Safari Park. Discussions cover topics ranging from microplastics in our air, soil, and waterways to the amount of food waste during this season. Copyright 2024 BBC. The BBC bears no accountability for the content of external sites. Information regarding its external linking approach is available.