Geoff Kennedy, former resident of Frenchman’s Cay, won the New York City Triathlon Sunday, August 7 with an overall time of 2 hours 22 minutes and 52 seconds.
The Olympic-length triathlon is comprised of a swim of 1.5 kilometres, a bicycle race of 40 kilometres, and a run of 10 kilometre..
Paraplegic competitors use hand cycles and wheelchairs for the bicycle and running sections of the race. With this win, Mr. Kennedy can represent the United States in the World Championships in Beijing, China this September.
Mr. Kennedy, now a resident of Puerto Rico, has also won the Texas One-Half Triathlon in June in temperatures of 106 degrees. The Texas race acts as a semi-final for October’s world reknown Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon in which only five male and three female wheelchair/hand cycle athletes will compete out of a total of over 1,400. The Hawaiian race is considered by most as the world’s most difficult triathlon; it includes a 4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle and 26.2-mile run.
Mr. Kennedy, a familiar face in Puerto Rico racing for the last three years, began racing in the Puerto Rican “World’s Best 10k Race” in a regular wheelchair in 2007. He bought a racing wheelchair and went on to win that race in 2010 and 2011, along with most of the island’s other wheelchair races during that period. He added hand cycle racing to his repertoire in 2010, which allowed him to compete in triathlons. He recently won the San Juan Iron Man Triathlon. He is currently considered the island’s top paraplegic racer and triathelete as well as racing in many stateside events, such as 26.2 marathon races in Florida, Atlanta, Boston, and New York.
Mr. Kennedy, son of Pamela and Terry, who managed Frenchman‘s Cay Hotel until 2006, was shot in the spine during a shopping trip to St. Thomas in 2000 when he was 19 years old. He got his start in racing when he raced mountain bikes in the VI’s bicycle club, going on to win the Caribbean Junior Championship in 1997. He also competed in several triathlons in Tortola. After the shooting he went to San Juan for three months of medical treatment and physical therapy before he returned Tortola. He later attended San Juan’s Inter-American University where he graduated in 2008.