From Ironman to Impact: My Story... So Far
If you’d asked me a few years ago what defined me, I would have said triathlon. I rose through the short-course ranks, raced world cups, and ticked off big results. But something was always missing. Even on the best days, I was left with that strange feeling, like there’s more I could be doing.
Then 2020 hit. Covid shut down triathlon, but it gave me something I didn’t know I needed which was time to reflect. I realised how much I valued friendships, community, and the bigger picture of life. I shifted focus to study while training for the Rottnest Channel Swim as a means to keep fit and challenge myself physically. But just before the crossing, I had a severe reaction to the Pfizer vaccine and I was diagnosed with myocarditis. My cardiologist said: "no training, no racing, at least six months off." For me, that was a nightmare.
So I turned all that energy into study. I wrote a thesis on AI in healthcare (before Gen AI, not sure how I did that haha), scored a High Distinction, and somehow ended up graduating as valedictorian at UWA. My first “real” job came at Deloitte, and I loved it...the challenge, the pace, the people. Everything I know about business, I credit to that team.
Still, I couldn’t ignore triathlon. What had started as a little side quest with friends — Ogging Squad had started to grow. Helping mates, many of whom had never even done a triathlon, gave me something racing never had, purpose. That’s when Ogging Fit was born.
But being around the sport again pulled me back to my roots. I wanted to race. With my heart troubles behind me, I signed up for Sunshine Coast 70.3 in 2024. I wasn’t expecting much. But I shocked myself (and a few others) by finishing 4th, winning $5,000 prize money. For the first time, I thought: "maybe I really could do this full-time."
I ran the Sydney Marathon the week after in 2:35. I entered and raced Malaysia Ironman 4 weeks after that. I had big dreams of racing around the world alongside my good mate Nick Thompson, who was climbing the pro ranks. Life was finally coming together.
And then...Busselton.
The Accident That Changed Everything
December 2024. I was the fittest I’d ever been, lining up at Busselton 70.3 with Nick, Reece, Jamie, all the crew down to watch. The gun went off, the swim was solid, and on the bike I was hunting Nick’s wheel. I glanced down at my power meter for a second, misjudged the roundabout, and at 52km/h I went straight into a give-way sign.
I’ll never forget the feeling of my leg collapsing, the shock of looking back and seeing it mangled, bones protruding. I screamed for help. I remember asking for the green whistle, the pain was unbearable. My shoe had flown off, and for a split second I thought my foot had too.
The ambulance took 20 minutes to reach me, weaving through the sea of athletes. I was helicoptered to Perth. The doctors told me I might lose my leg, maybe even my life. Open femur fracture. External fixators. Rods. Emergency surgery. And then three brutal months in hospital.
Compartment syndrome. DRESS syndrome (Life threatening drug reaction). Severe infection. Sixteen surgeries. Twelve blood transfusions. At one point, they gave me a choice: amputate my leg, or try to salvage it with no guarantee of ever having a useful limb. I was terrified. But I chose salvage. If there was even a chance I could keep my leg, I wanted to take it.
Ten months on, I’m still facing the possibility of amputation. My femur is being replated in two weeks, and I’ll undergo limb-lengthening surgery to restore the 5cm I’ve lost in my tibia. Every day is pain, rehab, uncertainty. My life feels paused - but it’s also been redirected.
Finding Purpose in Ogging
What’s kept me going is the triathlon and endurance community. Ogging and the people around it, gave me something bigger than myself to fight for. In my darkest moments, when I told my dad I didn’t want to keep going, the messages of support pulled me back. Friends. Athletes. People I’d never met. That outpouring of encouragement reminded me: if I have to go through this, I want to do it in a way that inspires others.
Because movement is a privilege. Choosing to be in pain is a privilege. Training, racing, even hurting in a session — those are gifts not everyone gets.
Ogging has become my way of sharing that truth. We’re not just about racing, coaching, or clothes. We’re about community, about showing people they’re capable of more than they think, and about celebrating the fact that we get to move.
The Road Ahead
My story isn’t wrapped up with a bow. I don’t know exactly what recovery looks like. I may keep my leg. I may not. But what I do know is, I’m here, I’m alive, and I’m trying to make a difference.
Helping others chase their potential, to bring people together, and to remind everyone that performance doesn’t need pretence — it needs heart.
This is just the start of the next chapter!
— Jonny