In 2009 the Triathlon European Championships where held in a small village about 7 km from where I live. The event took place over an entire weekend. I knew this one was coming a long time before it took place and I baldly asked press accreditation. (I started my photographic hobby only half a year before this). Since I did not have any press-passes or something they offered me to shoot on Saturday. The least important/busy day of the weekend for the press. Not only was this my first big event, I also had the best press-vest ever, because I was officialy photographer number 1!!

On Saturday there was the fun triathlon for locals, the womens EC Triathlon and the EC Triathlon for disabled people. To be honest, it was the most shocking yet incredible and beautiful thing I had ever seen.
In this sport you see people who, by standards of normal people, shouldn't be able to do these kind of things. I was training myself as well for a local triathlon, but these people with their disabilities(no arms, legs, blindness etc.) where pretty much all faster than I, a healthy young man, was. That was incredible to say the least.

The winner of the EC was a woman/girl my own age. She couldn't use her legs. I was really fascinated with her, because apparently she had been studying the same degree as I am in. And man, even with a hand-driven wheelchair-bike she was just as fast as a regular cycle racer. It's really impressive. About a year ago I heard in the news that after an accident and long/intensive revalidation she can now walk again! Better yet, she's now enlisted in the national womens cycle racing team, which is a huge thing.

Enough text now! This is my favorite shot of her from that day and it will be my entry:


EC Triathlon Holten 2009 by Jan Paalman, on Flickr