KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Hines Ward added a new title to his resume Saturday. Not content with being a football and dancing star, Ward now is an Ironman.
The two-time Super Bowl winner finished one of the world’s most challenging triathlon courses in 13 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds.
Ward was the 1,680th athlete to cross the finish line after a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full 26.2-mile marathon. He swam a 1:20:01, biked a 06:21:12 and finished off with a 5:12:56 run.
The former NFL star and “Dancing With the Stars” winner trained for nearly a year with triathlon legend Paula Newby-Fraser.
“When I first started it was raining one day and I even asked Paula if I should be running in the rain. I never thought I could run further than a mile,” Ward said. “This has been a life-changing experience for me.”
