Incredible Crean made of iron

David Crean was like a lot of us during the Covid-19 lockdown, especially those who were living away in college. Frustrated at being locked inside, not a semblance of a goal in sight, his beloved gyms all closed in Dublin, all the goals of the Knockmore native had hit a roadblock.

Unlike a lot of us though, or anyone in Ireland for that matter, David went on to become the youngest Irishman to compete at last month’s Ironman World Championships in Nice, France – a phenomenal achievement for a man who had no coaching, taught himself, and who fell in love with the idea after stumbling upon a YouTube video.

“I started during Covid, I was looking for something to keep me going. I was living in Dublin at the time and I was watching a YouTube video – I think it’s quite a famous video – of these two women who crossed the finish line, crawling across it. I saw that and thought ‘Yeah! That sounds like a challenge, let’s put the mind to that’.” 

In October 2020, David began training for his first iron distance triathlon which would take place in August 2021, in Killarney. An iron distance triathlon is a 3.8-kilometre swim, followed by a mammoth 180-kilometre cycle and finished with a grueling marathon. What kind of person would want to go through that? David did, and just describes himself simply as a man who “likes a challenge”. But his incredible feats are far from simple and definitely earn him his described “self-pride and sense of achievement”.

He was hooked after the fantastic feeling of finishing his first Ironman.

“Nothing compares to crossing the finish line and being with your family in that moment,” he admits. And so he then signed up for two more Ironmans, the UK Ironman in Bolton and the Cork Ironman, which he would miss through already qualifying for the Worlds after his exceptional 14-hour performance in Bolton.

David Crean works at the Ice House in Ballina who he says are “incredibly helpful” and work around his hours to allow him train for the extreme test of one’s endurance. That training includes a 10k run followed by a 50k cycle, a swim in the pool and then into work. His “hell days”, or days off as they’re better known, see him manage an incredible 10k run and 50k cycle twice. He always cools down with a well-earned ice bath before and after.

David says that in Kerry Ironman, the swim was his toughest test. In his second in Bolton, the insane 9,800m elevation gain course threw him off. But the run in Nice saw him struggle the most. “Kilometre 26, I could feel it kicking it, I got quite bad heatstroke, I was tripping over, delirious and getting quite emotional. I said to myself, ‘If we’re going to pull out, it’s going to be now, or we’re going to finish it’.” 

Finish it he did. David performed superbly and completed something not many people will in their lifetimes. His performance and medal has rightfully made him, his family and the parish of Knockmore and beyond exceptionally proud. Knockmore’s very own Ironman