Alcudia – February 9 – Belgian wheelchair triathlete and motivational speaker Marc Herremans, winner of the 2006 Hawaii Iron Man, visited and impressed RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK in Majorca, where the team was racing and preparing the 2012 season. Herremans was invited by Team Manager Johan Bruyneel.
“I wanted to show our people an example of real perseverance,” explained Bruyneel. “For many years my personal life has been inspired by Marc Herremans. When you look at his life story and when you see what he achieved, you realize there are always ways to make the best out of it, even in hopeless situations. I thought it was a good idea to introduce Marc to the team – not only to the riders, but also to the staff. They all listened with open mouths. Mission accomplished, I think,” concluded Bruyneel.
Some months after finishing 6th in the 2001 Ironman Hawaii, Marc Herremans (38) broke his back during bike training in Lanzarote. The accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Just eight months later he made his appearance at the start line in Kona, only now as a wheelchair athlete. “You can be perfectly at one with life and with yourself if you dare to look down as well and face reality. If I only looked up to people who can walk stairs, both literally and metaphorically, I would get depressed,” said Herremans. “Life is too short to be sorry; you have to move on.”
“As a youth rider I had more or less the same accident as Marc had,” continued Bruyneel. “I broke my back but my paralysis was only temporary. After a long rehabilitation period I was able to ride my bike again and to have a successful cycling career. Marc was forced to live in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He didn’t have the luck I had.”
Inspired by disabled actor Christopher Reeve (who portrayed ‘Superman’), “Mad Max” Herremans started a foundation named “To Walk Again”. He was elected as Sports Personality of the Year in Belgium and kept on training. In 2006 he was the first wheelchair athlete to finish the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, after a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile handbike ride and a 26.2 mile ride in a wheelchair. One year later he became the first (and up to now only) person to complete the Crocodile Trophy on a handbike, one of the world’s hardest mountain bike races, in Queensland, Australia.
Herremans, who in addition to working a minimum of three hours a day and is a regular speaker at business events, spoke with the riders and staff of RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK about his life but also about dreams, perseverance, misfortune, adversity, fighting back, reaching goals and attaining victories. Using metaphors and symbols, he explained how to focus on the bright side of life. He also showed a video that illustrates his ability to suffer incredibly.
“It’s up to you if you want to look up or down,” explained Herremans. “A lot of people are much worse off than me. I try to look at the things I still can do and not at the things I can’t.”
Herremans remains very busy. In addition to his work for the foundation and his motivational speaking, he is a trainer and coach for many sportsmen, including Kevin Pauwels, the 2012 Overall winner of the World Cup Cyclocross and the number one in the UCI ranking.
“I think we need to include more of these type sessions,” said Johan Bruyneel. “It is my intention to call on Marc’s help more often this year. Cycling, or sport in general, is more than just trying to be physically the strongest. Health, equipment and technical skills are important, as is the mental aspect. Or to quote Marc: “Life’s only limitations are the ones we make – it’s all in the mind and nothing is impossible…”
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