MORE COVERAGE: Julia Creek Dirt N Dust | Photos
MOUNT Isa’s Tristen Bowen showed exactly how a disability doesn’t prevent a full and active life with an astonishing performance at Julia Creek’s Dirt N Dust.
The 16-year-old from Mount Isa is blind but that was no impediment to him to tackling the gruelling course with the help of Steve Carson, who navigated the 800m swim leg with Tristan by canoe, cycled 25km with him on a tandem and then ran the 5km side by side before standing aside to allow Tristan cross the finish line by himself, landing in the arms of waiting officials.
Steve later modestly joked it was the “blind leading the blind” but together they told one of the most remarkable stories of this great event.
Tristan, a year 11 student who was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, first met Steve at the 2014 Anzac Day parade and quickly got into the groove, going tandem cycling together, and even surviving a tyre blowout in training 20km from town.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t think I would do if could see; tandem cycling is definitely one of them,” Tristan said.
Tristan admitted the course was “tough” but took his first Dirt N Dust in his stride.
“I didn’t know Dirt N Dust was the toughest triathlon when I entered, but that doesn’t bother me too much,” Tristan said.
“Yes you need a different bike to race and someone to help guide me but other than that it’s not that different from how a sighted person would race.”
Tristan said he loved riding and was set to keep competing.
“My next event will be the Border Ride,” he said.
That will taken Steve and Tristan 202km from Mount Isa to Camooweal.
“Blindness doesn’t limit a person’s capabilities,” Tristan said. “There’s always a way to achieve your goals, you just need to think outside the box.”
