Menno Koolhaas and Matt Burton have both spoken of the seriously scary moments after they were stung by jellyfish around the start of the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii on Saturday (October 26.
They were among several athletes to suffer stings, with the race date apparently coming right in the middle of the three days of ‘high probability” in the month of October when jellyfish are most likely to be present near the shore around the island. That’s usually eight to 10 days after the full moon, which came on October 17.
Koolhaas would recover swiftly and lead the pro men’s field out of the water en route to a superb fifth place, the highest ever by a Dutchman in Kona.
But there was heartbreak for Aussie star Burton – who was forced to finish his race early on the bike for medical attention after what he revealed was an “anaphylactic reaction”.
‘I thought I was maybe allergic’
Asked about his day at the post-race press conference for the top five finishers, Koolhaas said: “It started really bad – I got stung by a jellyfish and it was really, really painful. My heart was pumping like crazy and I thought I’m maybe gonna die or something, I thought I was maybe allergic.
“When the gun goes, I felt it, but it was okay. Then I had the best start and I took the lead.”
And what followed exceeded even his own expectations given that the build up had seen him miss four weeks of running training. He added: “My goal here because of the preparation was to come out of the water first and put my name on the board a little bit. And then the rest was just ‘we’ll see’.
“But I felt really good on the bike – only the last 10km was really challenging – and then the run was just one big question mark. I think it was my worst marathon ever in terms of feeling – my calves were really painful after just 10km.
“But Ironman is also a sport of being mentally strong and I had to be that and make the best of it. I think this was one of my best performances, but also mentally, which I’m really proud of. A first time Hawaii rookie and coming top five, I couldn’t dream of more.”
‘My blood pressure was through the roof’
Unfortunately for Burton there was a very different outcome and, while packing up his bike for the return trip to Australia, he spoke eloquently and honestly about what he’d endured.
He explained in an Instagram video: “The day after the day that wasn’t. No-one wants to listen to a story of excuses or whatever happened to someone that didn’t have a good day, because full credit to all the boys that charged on through.
“But unfortunately a lot of people got stung by jellyfish at the start of the day, which is quite rare in Kona. I just have a life of hypersensitivity to stings and, you know, an anaphylactic reaction.
“I hadn’t had any real issues for a long time, but I suffered pretty poorly through the swim and actually as soon as I dove in, probably within 10 or 20 strokes.
“I guess I just hoped that it would subside a little bit. Like you get stung by stingers at home [but] I actually went through a bit more pain than I’d experienced before. And then I got on the bike and it actually just kept getting worse.
“So it got to the point where once I pulled over, I definitely wasn’t myself. So thank you to the medical staff that helped me. I wasn’t very far out of town, so I didn’t trouble the scorers in that regard. Medical were great here, just making sure I was okay – my blood pressure was through the roof.”
Thankfully he’s made a good recovery since, adding: “I’m healthy now. I’m fine. You always hope that luck will be on your side, but sometimes it’s completely out of your control.”
Laura Siddall: 10 things I’ve learned from my professional triathlon career
