Marc Herremans

Marc Herremans, born in Merksem on 19 December 1973, is a Belgian triathlete and motivational speaker. He had trained for triathlons only since 1998 when he finished fourth at the Ironman of Australia, which secured him a place at the 2001 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, where he finished sixth. In January 2002 he fell during bike training in Lanzarote, broke his back and was left paralysed from the stomach down. Only three months later he began training for the Ironman as a wheelchair athlete, and in 2006 he became the first wheelchair athlete to reach the finish of the Ironman in Hawaii. In 2003 he started the foundation To Walk Again to support other disabled people, and the Belgian press elected him sports personality of the year in 2002.