Athlete Bio for John Crawford Date of issue; July 20, 2009
John Crawford is a 57 year old man who is a heart disease survivor and a veteran age group athlete of
running and triathlon.
In 1997 John Crawford was diagnosed with acute angina (coronary heart disease). In October 1997 he
underwent double bypass heart surgery. Since that time, John has competed in 16 running races and
90 triathlons. Included in these achievements is his 3 finishes of the Ironman Triathlon. His first finish of
an Ironman was at Ironman USA in Lake Placid NY in July 2004 (16 hours, 35 minutes and 24 seconds).
The distances of the Ironman Triathlon is swim 3.8 km, bike 180 km and run 42.2 km. To be official, an
athlete must complete the distance in 17 hours or less.
John is one of the world's first people to have completed an Ironman Triathlon after having undergone
open heart surgery. Since then some others have done this. In August 2008, Dwight Kroening of
Sherwood Park, Alberta completed the Ironman Triathlon in Penticton after having undergone a heart
transplant 22 years before.
John credits his dedicated fitness lifestyle to the management of his coronary heart disease and to his
enhanced overall health.
In January 2004, John retired from his position of Vice President of Sales for Subaru Canada, Inc. to
focus of fitness and family. John also does volunteer work. He is the President of Milton Old-timers
Hockey League. John also performs music concerts at nursing homes. He also volunteers at triathlons
doing everything from announcing to being a "swim buddy" for beginner triathletes.
John is the father of 3 and a grandfather of 2. His son Adam is physically and mentally challenged but
attends all the races with John and is a dedicated volunteer of the sport. John lives in Milton.
Date of issue; July 20, 2009