Who dares wins isn’t just the motto of the SAS – it’s also the creed Riana Crehan lives by.
So nobody should be too surprised that the V8 Supercars commentator beat the odds again to finish IRONMAN Cairns on Sunday.
It was Riana’s first IRONMAN in four years, and her first since she and husband Will Davison welcomed son Dash into the world in 2023 following a challenging pregnancy.
She started the day by exiting the water in 1:25:59 after the 2.4-mile swim to start the day, and then completed the 112-mile bike course in 6:37:09. If that wasn’t enough, Riana still had the small matter of a marathon (26.2 miles) to run and she did that in 4:43:35 for an overall finish time of 12:58:18.
Bed-ridden
Riana is no stranger to physical adversity, having gone days without sleep, crawled through mud and jumped out of helicopters on her way to winning reality TV show SAS Australia in 2022.
So she was not about to let a back injury and a sinus infection which left her bed-ridden in the run-up to Cairns knock her off course.
Posting on her Instagram, she wrote: “It’s hard to put into words how I feel about Sunday. I started this journey to do another Ironman, my first since having Dash about 12months ago. I was just wanting to do something for me after having a baby.
Rollercoaster of emotions
“Sunday was brutal. The conditions were just insane. An Ironman is truly an experience like no other. The best and worse day. Riding a rollercoaster of emotions while physically pushing your body to limits many don’t ever find.”
Crehan’s prep could hardly have gone worse but she is clearly no quitter and was determined to make it to Cairns – especially as this was her third attempt at doing another IRONMAN after being forced to cancel previous attempts to compete at Busselton and Port Macquarie.
“A scary time”
“I got fitter then ever and 3 weeks out from Ironman Busso crashed my bike,” she explained. “Smashed collarbone and broken hand later.
“Attempt number 2. Port Mac. I was back into training when mum got sick. Really sick. A scary time for our family that we are still going through. I wasn’t mentally in a place to keep on track so it was off the table again.
“Attempt number 3. Cairns. After thinking we were back on track my back decided enough was enough. No cycling for 5-6 weeks, ease up on running and be careful swimming. Here we go again… Not ideal 8 weeks out.
“I was in bed with a sinus infection the day before we left for Cairns, an emergency trip to the doctors to try anything possible to feel better. I couldn’t even walk let alone think of what was ahead of me.
“Then one last plot twist, my bike had a mechanical issue Saturday morning, just before needing to drop it to transition. Probably from all of the travel in the last few weeks.
“To cross that finish line with Will and Dash and our friends Tannie and Chris, to share that moment is something I will cherish forever.
“Thank you to everyone who has cheered, messaged, supported me. The love is truly overwhelming.”
Racing to keep up: Is social media making us train harder?
