12C» SPORTS sunday, june 11, 2017 B denverpost.
com B the denver post
I R ON MA N BO U LD E R
Two to tri with all their might
Man, 18, with cerebral palsy, scoliosis and 48-year-old are ready to roll – and run and get wet
By John Meyer The Denver Post
boulder» Traveling here from
his home in Baltimore last week in
hopes of becoming the first per-
son with cerebral palsy and scoli-
osis to cross the finish line of an
Ironman Triathlon, James Banks
flew on an airplane for the first
time. He enjoyed the experience
so much, he summarizes his feel-
ings with the exclamation he uses
for just about everything that
makes him happy.
“Booyah!” Banks said Friday
morning at the Boulder Reservoir,
where he will participate in Sun-
day’s Ironman Boulder propelled
by David Slomkowski of Balti-
more’s Athletes Serving Athletes,
which exists to give individuals
with disabilities the thrill of ath-
letic competition. By ASA’s vo-
cabulary, Banks is the “athlete”
and Slomkowski is the “Wing-
Man.” Sunday’s race includes a
2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride
and a marathon run (26.2 miles).
But about that airplane ride …
“It was awesome,” said Banks,
18. “People said it was going to be
scary, but no, it wasn’t scary.”
Banks’ father, an Army man who
was a runner, died in an automobile
accident. Banks’ then-pregnant
mother, who survived the crash,
gave birth to him that night. His ce-
rebral palsy is related to oxygen de-
privation he suffered that night.
“James has heart, just a kind
soul,” Slomkowski said. “He has a
really good mom and grandma
that taught him to be well-man-
nered. He’s always worried about
other people. You spend time
around James and you’re like,
‘What was I complaining about?’ ”
Their story goes back 11 years to
the founding of Athletes Serving
Athletes. Slomkowski was a re-
covering alcoholic coming to
grips with the consequences of
bad decisions and going through a
divorce.
Proceeds to benefit The Denver Post Community Foundation in support of the Colorado FFA Foundation and Colorado 4-H.
James Banks, 18, accompanied by David Slomkowski, is hoping to become the first person with
cerebral palsy and scoliosis to cross the finish line in an Ironman Triathlon. Joe Amon, The Denver Post
“I didn’t like looking at the guy
in the mirror and decided to make
some changes,” Slomkowski said.
He decided to run a marathon.
After that he saw a video about
Team Hoyt, the famous father-son
duo from Massachusetts that has
done 72 marathons and seven
Ironmans. Inspired by them, he
approached Baltimore’s William
S. Baer School, which was found-
ed in 1939 for children with polio
but now exists to help special-
needs children. Could he do for
those children what Dick Hoyt did
for his son, Rick, who has cerebral
palsy? Slomkowski met with par-
ents at the school, and Banks’
mother was one who was interest-
ed in the offer.
Since then, Slomkowski and the
Sept. 15th~Sept. 17th
REGISTER
TO DA Y AT
PEDALTHEPLAINS.COM
3-Day Tour u century-plus ride u family fun ride
organization he founded have
made it possible for more than
200 children with disabilities to
participate in running races and
triathlons.
“My personal journey led me to
this,” Slomkowski said. “Trea-
sures beyond my wildest dreams:
Stop being stubborn and do what I
was put here to do.”
Banks was the first child Slom-
kowski pushed in a race. First they
did a 5K. A month later they did
the Baltimore Marathon in a field
of Olympic-caliber runners, get-
ting a two-minute head start on
the field.
“My eyes are like this (huge),
my heart’s coming out of my
chest, just to feel that electricity
and excitement,” Slomkowski re-
dle Up !
d
Sa d Ride.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
NER
C O L O R A D O
E
6
called.
“We were rolling!” Banks added.
Since then, Banks has partici-
pated in more than 100 events —
including two Half Ironmans —
with Slomkowski or other ASA
wing persons. “Even girls!” Banks
remarked with obvious delight.
“He’s like a hot commodity,”
Slomkowski said. “Everyone
wants to race with him.”
When swimming, Slomkowski
pulls Banks in a raft. Banks likes to
sing while they’re in the water —
mostly Al Green and Marvin Gaye
tunes — which is quite entertaining
to the safety observers watching
over the swimmers from kayaks.
“It is risky,” Slomkowski conced-
ed. “I feel confident about our safe-
ty procedures. Any of our athletes
It’s go
i n g t o be
Wil
KERSEY
KEENESBURG
BRUSH!
who do triathlons always have a
Type 1 life preserver that’s not at-
tached to the boat, so if, God forbid,
something did happen to the raft,
they’re going to float upright.”
Slomkowski actually worries
more about the bicycle leg be-
cause speeds sometimes top 30
mph. Banks rides in the front of a
bicycle built for two, which Slom-
kowski steers from the rear. For
the marathon, Slomkowski pushes
Banks in a racing wheelchair.
“There’s no guarantee nothing
bad ever happens,” Slomkowski
said. “We treat these individuals
like they’re our children, but we’re
racing. That’s what adds to the ex-
citement.”
There’s also time pressure.
Slomkowski has no doubt he has
the endurance to pull and push
Banks the entire 140.6 miles of
Sunday’s race, but there are time
cutoffs. They need to finish the
swim in two hours and 20 min-
utes. They need to finish the bike
ride by the 10:30 mark and the
marathon before 17 hours elapses.
Slomkowski, 48, has “no clue”
what his finish time would be if he
did an Ironman alone.
“I couldn’t care less,” he said.
“I’ve had my time when it was all
about me in playing sports. But
when I saw the Hoyt story …”
Then he had a new “purpose” in
life.
“I feel like I was put here to do
it. I love sports, a huge positive in-
fluence in my life. I understand
the benefits of a healthy, active
lifestyle. Being human, I can talk
myself out of a run or into eating a
half gallon of ice cream, but when
you know you have a friend like
James who loves to race and he’s
counting on you to take care of
yourself, it just makes it so much
better in every way.”
John Meyer:
jmeyer@denverpost.com
or @johnmeyer
a