Wow, that's nuts. Makes you want to be sure that you're drinking enough and getting the necessary electrolytic replacement.

I can't imagine being that ill. Watching him wack out on the carpet was disturbing.

wow, i never knew that about him. Very interesting. So did he get credit for finishing in 1997 Or was he a DNF? That would suck w/ only 50m to go.

There was a great article about this in the August 2004 Triathlon Magazine. If I remember correctly he had to have some of his intestines removed, and the doctors thought he would never compete again. The article came complete with photos showing him on the ground with his stomach so bloated he looked like he was pregnant.

I read that article. Very scary stuff what he went through after that ironman.
The commercial kind of irritated me a little. Matter of fact I almost jumped right on Trifuel to see
if anyone else thought the same thing that knew the story.
Seemed as though it trivialized his medical issues and "thanks to gatorade he completed Ironman
Coeur d' Alene!"
Incredible what he had to go through just to get out of the hopital.
I doubt Gatorade helped him do that.

I seem to always like gatorade commercials
I dun't know why
Maybe I'm just too much of a sport junkie
But - adding one to what TriTimKC said- it is stupid. Gatorade made him finish the Ironman? Like come on

Peace
Tyler

Wow! the good of the commercial is that I can realize how important is to have an hydration and nutrition strategy. …where is my water bottle!!!!

Must have been a real bummer to be 50 meters from the finish tape and 100 grande, only to fall on your
keister while your body shuts down, and then have to watch some second banana cruise past you and pick up your finish line Lay...and check. He would have been better off just dropping out 20 miles back
and avoiding the near death "I can see lights all around me" experience. Who "won" that year anyway ?
If it would have been me, being the decent guy that I am, I would have split the money with Chris, I think he earned it...just my 2.5 cents

[QUOTE=ThommyM]Must have been a real bummer to be 50 meters from the finish tape and 100 grande, only to fall on your
keister while your body shuts down, and then have to watch some second banana cruise past you and pick up your finish line Lay...and check..
Who "won" that year anyway ?
[/QUOTE]

Chris Legh bio:

[url]http://www.duofold.com/chris-legh.jsp[/url]

1997
Thomas Hellriegel leads a trifecta of Germans first across the finish line in race conditions that longtime Ironman competitor Scott Tinley calls the toughest ever. Strong and steady headwinds averaging 30 mph slow the bike and cloudless skies with temperatures in the low 90s combine to produce the slowest finish times in a decade. The conditions set the stage for the biggest surprise victory in the history of the women’s race as Heather Fuhr of Canada, renowned for her ability to handle the heat, runs nearly 15 minutes faster than any of the top five women to claim her first Ironman title in 9:31:43. Three other notable Ironman happenings that occur include John MacLean of Australia celebrating the debut of the championship’s physically challenged division by becoming the first athlete to power a hand-crank bike and wheelchair to an official finish; Jim Ward’s competing as the first 80-year-old in race history; and Belgian Luc Van Lierde leading four men under 8 hours at Ironman Europe with a new world record time of 7:50:27.

The "second banana" was Jurgen Zack in 8:39:35, completing his ninth straight Hawaii Ironman (he had six top-10 finishes).

Here's the Gatorade article on Inside Triathlon:
[url]http://www.insidetri.com/train/coach/articles/2507.0.html[/url]

PoC