It is grueling enough to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles, but imagine doing all of that when you can only see a blur of light ahead of you.

Kristina Ament, a 52-year-old federal prosecutor, has completed four Ironman triathlons under those exact conditions because of her Leber congenital amaurosis, a degenerative disease that causes acute vision loss.

Now the Alexandria resident is training for October’s world championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, as one of five winners of the Ironman lottery for physically challenged athletes.
Organizers could not provide an exact number of visually impaired athletes who have completed the Ironman world championship, but they say dozens have competed in the 32 years since a category was created for the disabled. They must complete the three endurance events in under 17 hours, just like everyone else. One visually impaired athlete, Charles Plaskon, made it to the finish line in 14 hours and 49 minutes in 2007 with the help of a guide.

Like Plaskon, Ament relies on other athletes to guide her through the competition. Every stroke or stride she takes is done while tethered at the waist or arm to someone who can see. It means Ament must find a rhythm with her guide, create a game plan ahead of time to stay in sync.

Kristina Ament and Anne Thilges at an Ironman competition in Florida.

“The guide usually describes the course in advance, saying, for instance, it’s a square. It’s going to be all left-hand turns. It’s about this many yards to the first buoy; this many yards to the next,” Ament said. “If we get a system going and I know the course well enough, they can just tap my shoulder when its time to turn.”

SOURCE: The Washingtom Post