All roads now lead to IRONMAN Kona for Billy Monger after he came through his final pre-Hawaii triathlon test over the weekend.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of annual UK charity event Comic Relief, the 25-year-old former race car driver – now a popular TV presenter and personality, notably for Channel 4 F1 – will take on the sport’s most brutal test on October 26.
After suffering life-changing injuries in a near-fatal race crash in 2017, Billy had both his legs amputated, but he has not let the severity of his injuries stop him from pushing boundaries in sport.
Back racing within a year of his accident, Monger clinched podiums in British F3 races, and in 2021, made his first venture in endurance sport, raising £3 million for charity when he walked, cycled and kayaked across England in four days.
Raising vital funds for the charity, Billy will race the World Championship course in Hawaii as an IRONMAN Ambassador Athlete and has his sights set on the record for fastest double amputee on prosthetic legs.
Hoping to break the record by finishing in under 16 hours, 26 minutes and 59 seconds, Monger’s journey will also be filmed as a documentary which will air on BBC One and iPlayer in 2025.
Monger aces IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth
Billy took in his final prep race for Kona on Sunday when he competed in IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth, and it was a case of mission accomplished as he successfully completed the course.
Monger started his day by finishing the 1.2-mile swim in a time of 33:50, before transitioning to the bike where he cycled the 56 miles in 3:39:06.
Last but absolutely not least, Billy then ran the half-marathon (13.1miles) in a time of 2:07:29 to finish the day with an overall time of 6:41:41.
Monger was satisfied with the end result, but knows that a far harder test awaits on the ‘Big Island’ next month, in brutal heat. Then Billy will take on double the distance – a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mike bike and a marathon (26.2miles) run to finish off.
Billy ‘blown away’, and now on to Kona
Writing on his Instagram account, he said: “WOW. I’m completely blown away this weekend by the support I had out on the @ironmantri course in Weymouth 🤯
“Thank you to everyone who came out and supported, I felt the love the entire way through that ❤️ An awesome FINAL event on home soil 🇬🇧 before I take on KONA.
“Feeling strong, fit, slightly terrified BUT most importantly, I’m ready to attack these last 40 DAYS with everything I’ve got 💪🏼
“40 days to get better… EXCITED to see what’s left in the tank! 🫡”
