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A Kelowna man has clinched a spot in a world championship endurance race after tying for third place, and the top Canadian racer, in an Ironman race in Florida.
Jaxon Jurome competed in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon circuit in Haines City, Fla., on Apr. 14, finishing in a third place tie with fellow Canadian Joshua Witt for his age group (males aged 25-29 for the calendar year).
It took 24-year-old Jurome four hours, 42 minutes and 49 seconds to complete the 70.3-mile (113-km) race, a time that was a surprise even to him.
"I would say probably 60% of the race was walking up the hills,” commented Jurome.
“Unfortunately there were a few people who had to seek medical attention, a few people actually throwing up on the side of the road due to exhaustion. It wasn't a pretty sight but it happened to be the conditions of that day . . . it was a pretty challenging race," he said, adding that despite it being his second Ironman race, the Florida heat and humidity made it much more strenuous.
After a rough start in the 1.2-mile (1.9-km) swim section, in which Jurome placed 20th of 69 for his age group, he thought about giving up.
"I spent so much time working over the winter trying to improve my swim and I've made such huge gains over the course of last year thanks to coach and the team,” Jurome said, thanking his coach, Luke Way of Balance Point Racing.
“But unfortunately, come race day I honestly had one of the worst swims of my life."
After regaining his motivation, Jurome would go on to finish the following bike section (56-miles, 90-km) with the best time, and fourth for the on-foot race portion (13.1-miles, 21.1-km) of the Ironman.
His performance earned him an opportunity to represent Canada in the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, on Sep. 7.
To Jurome, the trip to France and the journey that the Ironman 70.3 has led him on is what is most important to him.
"If we could place anywhere in the top 20 it would be fantastic . . . it's super competitive and I'm obviously hoping for a great result, but it’s about the journey too. That's the main important thing and if we can put up a fast time I'll be super excited," he said.
Jurome plans to document the journey and his rigorous training leading up to the championship with hopes it will inspire other racers to step outside their comfort zone and participate in an upcoming race.
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