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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-12-05 Daily Xml
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James, Mr S.

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:13): Today, I want to place on the record my acknowledgement and admiration for an achievement by a constituent of the Finniss electorate, Sid James. Just days ago, Sid finished the Ironman triathlon, which is no small feat. Most people would generally struggle with the triathlon, but Sid is a C3 quadriplegic, and such an achievement takes on an entirely new meaning. Sid, together with his good mate Kevin Fergusson, competed in the Ironman Western Australia event held in Busselton last Sunday. This achievement is national news this week, and rightly so. Sid, aged 60, is a resident of Victor Harbor in Finniss.

Unfortunately, Sid had an accident while training for his first Ironman triathlon in 1993, which left him a C3 quadriplegic. The accident has not dimmed his enthusiasm for the sport. He is the race director of the Victor Harbor triathlon, and the coming event in March next year is the 25th Victor Harbor triathlon. Sid has been in the lead of the events for all those 25 years. Victor Harbor is the biggest and most successful triathlon run in South Australia.

Sid's mate Kevin Fergusson, a well-known figure in the sport of triathlon, is also aged 60 and has competed in many events. Just looking at some of the stats on him on the triathlon webpages, in his first triathlon in 2003 he finished 22nd. Obviously he decided that was not where he wanted to be, so he trained a bit harder and from 2006 through to 2015 in his six starts he had six wins at his age level. So he has certainly excelled in the sport himself. The Western Australian event has meant three years of preparation. We have seen many things, including Sid and Kevin looking to compete in the Hawaiian triathlon last year.

Unfortunately, Sid was not able to compete in the end, it being deemed he was not fit enough to do so, so they had to postpone participating until this year's Western Australian event. Kevin starts the triathlon by towing Sid in an inflatable kayak during the swim leg, tows him in a custom three-wheel wheelchair during the bike part of the race, and then pushes Sid in the running leg of the triathlon. Sid had to prepare as well, modifying his diet and dropping quite a bit of weight to make himself lighter for Kevin to push around the course.

The full triathlon course is a 3.8-kilometre swim, a 180-kilometre ride, and a 42.2-kilometre run: certainly no mean feat for either of them. It would be hard enough for many of us to compete, and it is certainly not easy for Sid, even though he is the passenger in the event. Sid, being a C3 quadriplegic, has difficulty in managing his own body temperature, meaning he has to be constantly monitored to make sure his temperature is not getting outside key parameters and risking his health.

The community has complete admiration for Sid and the effort he has put in, and we very much thank Kevin for his efforts in taking Sid on the course. It took them just over 14 hours to complete, and meant that Sid's lifelong dream of completing the triathlon has been achieved. He has ticked that off, and I thank Kevin for his efforts in helping Sid do so. Sid is a famous figure in my community, and I am sure everyone would wish to congratulate him on becoming an ironman.

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