She had been dreaming about it for months, maybe even years, and had been training hard for months. Every competition – whether it was the Dutch National Games of the Special Olympics in Breda and Tilburg or the triathlon in Diehl – was about that day: September 1, 2024 in Duisburg, Germany. There, Esme-Anne de Meulmeester would become the first Special Olympics athlete from Europe to complete half the distance. Iron ManThe dream has come true. “It was an amazing experience,” says Esme Ann, 25, still with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
Because she was convinced she could do it. One of her motivations was to show that people with disabilities could do a half Ironman: a 1.9-kilometre swim, an 88-kilometre bike ride and a half marathon (21.1 kilometres). “Three events in a row, you can’t do it, they say. I’m very happy to have shown that it’s possible and I hope that people will now see it through my performance and stop saying things like that.”
handshake
But sometimes she still can’t believe she actually did it.
On the big day itself, Esme Ann stands in the starting box to dive into the water to begin her ordeal. Esme Ann talks to the other participants. “I have no idea what we talked about, but we talked about how to relieve stress a little bit. My hands were really shaking, and my emotions were all over the place. I had already put my goggles on, but that didn’t help much, because all the tears were coming. I knew I was about to achieve my dream.”
Two days earlier, Esme Anne had carefully created her own bubble. Her preparations included, for example, turning off her phone. “I told the most important people that it was nothing personal, but that my phone would remain off until the competition was over. I wanted to protect myself from the outside world. My coach (Marcel Germain) said that this was not strange at all, and actually made perfect sense. Femke Pohl does the same thing.”
pulled by the legs
Focus, good fitness and all the training helped ensure that the IRONMAN 70.3 race in Duisburg went well for EsmeeAnne from start to finish.
She also gained some new experiences. “It was very crowded during the swim. The start was a little sloppy, with a small group jumping into the water every time, but we swam with a lot of people to the first buoy. Well, that was tough! My legs were tight, and once I got on someone’s back, I didn’t notice it at all.” Esme Ann emerged from the water after 35 minutes, five minutes faster than her goal.
Even her least favorite part, the cycling, went well. For the first 70 kilometers, she was riding at an average speed of 33 km/h. Then she started to suffer. “Of course I sit bent over on my bike the whole time, so my back started to hurt. And when I got over that, there were some hills and it was hard.” Esme Anne called for help from above. “My grandfather passed away last May. This was a big competition without him. My other grandparents were always very athletic and very proud of me. Then I said out loud: ‘Grandpa and Grandma, if you can hear me, please help me to the finish line, because I can’t do it alone.’ I noticed that I could go a little faster and thought: ‘OK, we’ll fix this.’” After 2 hours and 52 minutes (less than the 3 hours she had set for herself), Esme Anne got off her bike to start the final part: 21.1 kilometers of running.
Don’t give up
“It became a battle with myself. I know I trained for this, but there was no way I was going to run that many miles in a row. I kept saying, ‘We won’t give up.’ And after I met a training partner she told me to slow down a bit. I didn’t always care about the time. I tried to enjoy myself and just wanted to finish the race.” Then I ran in a group of five, all on their last legs. Together they reached the finish line. “Okay guys, let’s do this,” one of them shouted, and then Esme Ann gave it her all again in the last few metres.
After 5 hours, 26 minutes and 49 seconds (her target time was 5 hours, 40 minutes) the first European Special Olympics athlete to complete a half Ironman crossed the finish line. She broke down. “After I got my medal, my body was fed up.” A can of Coke provided recovery and realization. “That’s when it all came out. I had to cry hard. I didn’t understand what I had done or how I had done it.” She realized her achievement, especially when she was called to the podium shortly afterwards. “They announced that a woman was participating, the first European Special Olympics athlete to complete an Ironman 70.3. I thought: ‘Hey, that sounds familiar.’”
