They didn’t compete in the race, but 11 University of Hawaiʻi of Mānoa medical students played a big part in pulling off the 40th annual Ironman World Championship on October 13 in Kailua-Kona.
The students from the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) flew to Hawaiʻi Island to report for duty, staffing the first-aid tents at the race.
Fourth-year medical student Keahi Horowitz is the veteran. He has volunteered four years in a row, this time showing the ropes to second-year students Lucia Amore and Jenna Yoshisato, co-coordinators of the JABSOM trip, and eight first-year students who enthusiastically pitched in at the legendary sporting event.
“It was non-stop from when we began our afternoon shift at the medical tent at 3 p.m. until the next morning at 1 a.m., when we signed off,” said Amore. The Ironman is a 140.6-mile race by swim, bike and run.
One of the first stops for race participants is the weigh-in tent, where medical workers assess dehydration that an athlete has suffered. The JABSOM students helped with the pre-race measurements of all athletes, then treated those who needed help with oral rehydration therapy consisting of water, Gatorade or hot broth.
For the full story, see the JABSOM website.
—By Tina Shelton
