Billy Monger is already a triathlon world record holder but he’s now set his sights on a target at the other end of the distance spectrum.
The 26-year-old set an incredible new IRONMAN World Championship record in Kona last October by becoming the fastest double leg amputee to complete the Hawaii course in a time of 14:23:36, taking more than two hours off the previous best.
And now his dream is to first earn a place – and then win gold – at the Paralympics in Los Angeles in three years time.
A former racing driver, he suffered a near-fatal crash in April 2017 during an incident at Donington Park, leading to the amputation of both his legs.
Now a commentator and presenter for Channel 4, Monger has taken on some amazing challenges, raising nearly £5million for Comic Relief since 2021.
In March 2021, he completed ‘Billy’s Big Challenge’ covering a distance of 140 miles by walking, kayaking and cycling, and three years later he tested himself once again, this time on the Big Island as he set that new world record.
Learning curve
But rather than the Ironman distance of a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a marathon run it’s an altogether different adventure he’s taking on now at the sprint end of the sport – a 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run.
In London he clocked 13:36 for the swim, 45:38 for the bike and 33:27 for the run for a total time of 1:42:47 which placed him 365th out of just under a thousand competitors.
And afterwards he said: “Today was about having fun with a home crowd and learning as much as possible.
“I’ve never done this distance before and I feel like I’ve finished with a smile on my face and I’ve learnt a lot.
“There were things to work on and things that went well. There were loads of people out there, the run course was really well supported. I’m actually really happy with that as a starting point – I’ve got big goals.”
Shorter doesn’t mean easier
He also featured on the live broadcast of the pro races and added: “I’m used to doing the really, really long stuff but now I have to get fast and do the short stuff. And let me tell you, just because it’s shorter doesn’t mean it’s easier, because that was hard out there!
“But the goal and the aspiration is LA and the Paralympics in 2028. So it’s going to be a completely different journey within the same sport.
“I need to get fast and powerful and just learn about how you pace a sprint race. It’s just so fascinating for me. I like those little intricate details of how you put a race on that sort of stage together.
“Learning and enjoyment were the main two things going into this race. I wasn’t hanging my hat on my performance in my first ever one, but just happy that I could do it in my hometown because Kona was the other side of the world and the support here was brilliant.”
Advice from the GOAT
And Monger also revealed that he’s getting plenty of help and support from many within the sport.
He explained: “Luckily I had a chance to send sit down with Jan Frodeno. I mean one of the GOATs. So in terms of people to ask, one of the best people in the business to do that.
“Although he did say that sprint distance is absolutely awful, which filled me full of confidence for my first run today!
“But honestly, everyone in the sport has been so welcoming – sharing information and knowledge.
“In motor sport sometimes everyone wants to hold those fine marginal gains back and I’m sure when I get closer to the Paralympics that my competitors won’t be giving away the secret sauce.
“But equally at that stage I’ll have hopefully learnt as much as possible and I’ll be able to operate it by myself and be confident I know what I’m doing.”
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