- Jon Blais
Jon Blais (August 30, 1971–May 27, 2007), also known as Blazeman, was an American triathlete.cite web
url = http://alswarriorpoet.com/lou2.html
title = Jon "Blazeman" Blais
date = 2007-06-03
publisher = "The Providence Journal", reproduced on alswarriorpoet.com
accessdate = 2008-10-08 (obituary)]Born and raised in
Seekonk, Massachusetts , he moved toSan Diego ,California , because of its reputation as a mecca for triathlon. He worked as aspecial education teacher. OnMay 2 ,2005 , at age 33, he was diagnosed withamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or "Lou Gehrig's disease"), a terminal muscle-wasting illness. He was permitted to enter the 2005Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, a life-long dream. He is believed to be the first person with ALS to attempt the Hawaii Ironman. As Blais put it, "Finishing the race is huge for me. No one is beating ALS. No one has done anything but walk away and die." With a total time of 16:28:56, more than half an hour before the cutoff, he "log-rolled" across the finish line and is certainly the first person with ALS to finish this race. He died onMay 27 ,2007 .References
External links
* [http://www.alswarriorpoet.com ALS Warrior Poet] , Jon Blais' personal website
*cite web | title=Giving it his all| work=San Diego Union-Tribune | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050925/news_lz1s25sunspcl.html| accessdate=October 16| accessyear=2005
* [http://www.waronals.com Blazeman Foundation] , The Blazeman Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
