GERMANTOWN, Wis. — A Germantown man is headed to Hawaii to compete in the Ironman World Championship in October — more than a decade after a truck struck him while he was training on his bicycle, crushing his leg and causing a serious concussion.
Kevin Breitzmann was on his bicycle in 2008, training for a triathlon, when the crash happened. Paramedics and emergency room doctors were uncertain whether he would survive or whether his leg could be saved.
"I was almost killed," the 55-year-old said. "The paramedics didn't think I'd live. The ER doctors didn't know if they'd be able to save my leg. I was pretty beat up."
Three years later, after putting in the work on the road to recovery, he completed his first of 13 Ironmans.
"It's not easy. It's a lot of discipline," he said. "A lot of days when you don't want to train, but you get up and do it anyway."
Now Breitzmann has qualified for the Legacy Ironman competition in Hawaii, a race totaling 140.6 miles of running, biking, and swimming. He qualified by completing 13 Ironmans.
"I think it's just going to be all of the years of everything I've put into it coming out at once," Breitzmann said.
The ocean may be a little warmer than Wisconsin lakes, but that doesn't mean the race is any easier. Breitzmann's coach, Jeff Melcher of Cycling Form & Fitness LLC, helps him train at an at-home facility, preparing for the Hawaiian heat by turning the air conditioning off.
"He's been able to rise to the occasion," Melcher said. "Decide that he wanted to get on his bike, run, bike, swim, get back to a triathlon and work toward his dream—which was going to Kona."
Breitzmann hopes his story inspires others to believe they can achieve their own goals.
"If there's something that you really want to do," he said. "Set your sights on it and do little things to get to that goal."
After completing his 14th Ironman, Breitzmann plans to stay active and continue participating in Ironmans, though perhaps not at the same full-time level.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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