Marc Herremans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marc Herremans (Merksem, 19 December 1973) is one of Belgiums most well-known triathletes.
Because he was able to obtain 4th place for the Ironman of Australia, he secured a place for the Ironman of Hawaï. On 6 October 2001, he ended 6th in the Ironman of Hawaï. This is widely regarded as the toughest triathlon in the world. As Marc had been training for triathlons since only 1998, he was considered by his trainers to have an enormous potential, and was expected to place for the top three the following year.
Unfortunately, every single dream of winning that Ironman was crushed when Marc, during a bike training in Lanzarote on 28 January 2002, fell with his bike in a dangerous bend, landing on rocks with his back. Marc was directly brought to a hospital, yet the doctors almost immediately diagnosed that Marc would paralyzed for life. He was paralyzed from his stomach to all the way down his feet, forcing him to live in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Yet after a short period of 3 months after the accident, Marc refused to be discouraged and started training for the Ironman of Hawaii, this time as a wheelchair athlete. That's how he earned his nickname, "Mad Max", as he never gives up hope and always tries to push his limits to the furthest possible. In 2002, he was elected by the Belgian press as sports personality of the year.
He started training very intensely and participated in the Ironman of Hawaii in 2002, only 10 months after his accident. Although he didn't finish first, he participated again every following year, because his ultimate goal was to win the Ironman of Hawaii. In 2006, he finally succeeded in his goal: he was the first wheelchair athlete to arrive at the finish of the Ironman of Hawaii (ironically, he didn't receive any prize money, because wheelchair athletes do not receive prizes).
In 2003, he started a foundation called "To Walk Again" that supports other disabled people, such as making a sports centre for disabled people, and that invests in bone marrow research. To gain more support for his foundation, Marc met disabled celebrities such as the late Christopher Reeve.
In October 2007, Herremans became the first person to complete the Crocodile Trophy with a hand bike. The Crocodile Trophy is one of the world’s hardest mountain bike races, traversing part on Northern Australia.
By the end of 2007, Herremans got condemned for 2750 euros and 8 days in prison with sentence delay due to fraud.
[edit] Book and movie
Marc Herremans has written a book and helped making a film about his life. Both the book and the film are called To walk again. The film was directed by Stijn Coninx, the soundtrack was provided by Ozark Henry. The movie follows Marc in both his effort to win the Ironman and to help disabled people with their lives, by encouraging them through his foundation.
