2013 Season Ends on a High Note for Triathlete Patrice Brisindi

ROBIC is proud to support triathlete Patrice Brisindi in his athletic career for a second year. After battling cancer in 2012, Patrice was hoping to come back this year and qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii for the second time.. He had participated in the event in 2011.

After completing two Half Ironman competitions in June 2013, Patrice prepared to face the Ironman Lake Placid on July 28. Unfortunately, due to especially cold and rainy weather conditions that morning, Patrice developed a severe case of hives.  He performed well nonetheless, actually improving on his best time, but it was not enough to qualify him for Hawaii. Only 49 seconds separated him from the last available spot. It was a very frustrating setback.

However, Patrice did not give up; he set out to find another Ironman race that was still open for registration, though the odds were against him.  Ironman Mont-Tremblant was full, but he managed to find a spot at the Ironman Louisville (Kentucky), which was taking place one month later. He thought he should have enough time to recover, and in any case, it was the last qualifying competition for Hawaii.

He made the trip to Kentucky by car (a 15-hour drive) to take part in the Ironman Louisville, which is considered to be one of the four toughest Ironman competitions in the world, out of 37, due to extreme heat and the swimming conditions in the Ohio River.

He did indeed have a hard time with these special conditions! But that did not stop him from achieving his best time, and breaking the legendary 10 hour Ironman barrier, crossing the finish line in 9:54! His final ranking of 8th position out of 406 participants in his age group, and 41st position out of 2600 participants allowed him to get the last available qualifying spot for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii on October 12.

By refusing to give up after Lake Placid, Patrice has fulfilled his dream to participate at the famous Hawaii Ironman for the second time. We will be cheering him on in October, for the last competition of the season. Good luck, Patrice!