Inspiration Series - Tim Don - The Man with the Halo

In this Inspiration video series post we present the incredible story On presents Tim Don - The Man with the Halo.

Tim Don is a 3 x Olympian, 4 x ITU World Champ, 2 x 70.3 World Champs podiums, and a Ironman World Record holder. In 2017, where he was arguably in peak condition and in the running for a podium position, two days before Kona he was hit by a truck whilst cycling resulting in a broken neck.

For his rehab, he opted for the Halo, a brace that holds your head and neck in position and requires being screwed into the skull. This gave him the best chance to make a return to elite sport as he felt he wasn't ready to retire. Amazingly after a couple of weeks he's already back in the gym and working on a stationary bike, all while he is still even prohibited to lie down whilst sleeping.

"His perspective is not that 'I'm stuck in this halo.' It's that 'I'm lucky to be alive and I'm gonna use this opportunity to train smarter and harder than I ever have before because not it's a new challenge,' and athletes like Tim love challenges." says his coaches Matt and Julie in the documentary.

His positivity, drive, and resilience shine through throughout the whole documentary. He shows the true soul of a fighter. Within 8 months of the accident he runs at 2:49 at the Boston marathon, and within 12 months he is back at Kona and crushes it coming 53rd overall in a time of 8:45:47.

"There's no secret formula. If this had happened to an age-grouper, they would've fought just as hard." he told Ironman after the race.