Hamlyn was the winner of the first-ever Corner Brook Ironman event in 1982 and has participated in every triathlon event, big or small, since claiming that first win.
Over the weekend, a nagging Achilles tendon injury kept him limited to participation in the sprint triathlon, half the distance, with his daughter Allison joining him.
The Star found out pretty quickly that Hamlyn isn’t ready to walk away from a sport that he has embraced as a way to live an active lifestyle so many moons ago.
“No, I don’t think so,” Hamlyn said bluntly when asked if he was done competing in the full triathlon Monday morning.
Over the course of his triathlon career, there were only two occasions where Hamlyn didn’t complete the full triathlon, both of those times he opted to participate in the team component of the triathlon because of injuries sustained from the running discipline.
Still feeling the effects of the injury, he wasn’t ready to do the full course this year but vows he will be back again next year.
He has seen the sport grow to the point where it became a stop on the International Triathlon Union circuit to it returning back to its roots where it was a local flavour and less people both participating and watching it from the sidelines.
Yes, it has gotten smaller with about 70 people in total competing in the various events, but it’s still a test of a some people’s mettle and something that they still want to do as a means to push themselves to the physical limits or just enjoy the benefits of being out there on the road.
“So it still makes it a worthwhile event even though it’s so much smaller and so much local than it used to be,” he said.
It’s a passion for him so he continues to support the event and share his wisdom with those who have followed his path. No matter how long a person stays connected with a sport he believes there are many lessons to learn about life and stressed that everybody needs a goal to motivate them to forge ahead.
“You can’t just go out and train for the fun of it,” he said. “You got to have some sort of goal to train towards.”
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Collins crosses the line first at Corner Brook Triathlon