FORMER Forster local Nat Heath has achieved an overall rank of 369 out of the 2367 athletes who competed in the Ironman World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
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Nat competed in the 30-34-year-old male age group, where he attained a rank of 75 out of 186 competitors.
The world championship event consists of a 3.86km open water swim, 180.2km bike ride and a 42.2km marathon.
Nat qualified for the world championship after he finished first in his age group at this year’s Ironman Australia, held in Port Macquarie in May.
The world championship is the culmination of several years of fitness focus for Nat.
In 2012 he applied for the Indigenous Marathon Program (IMP) and was invited to tryouts in Sydney.
After impressing in trials, Nat was meant to make his marathon debut in New York, but Hurricane Sandy led to the cancellation of the event, with the IMP staying behind to help with the clean up.
It’s not the only setback Nat has faced.
In 2010 he was diagnosed with the rare and potentially life-threatening Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition which affects one in 100,000 people annually.
It left him bedridden in hospital for two weeks, and it took him six weeks to regain functionality in his body again.
Doctors advised Nat that it was unlikely that he would be able to participate in any endurance sports ever again.
He quickly set out to prove them wrong.
Before the Kona race Nat said one of his ambitions was to finish the race holding the Aboriginal flag.
After losing several family members at young ages, he hopes his efforts can inspire the next generation to lead a healthier lifestyle.
“I wanted to show our community and my nephews and niece that this is not what being an adult is about, that it’s not normal. I wanted to show that you could be healthy and exercise,” he said.
More to come.
