Transplant recipient to run Half Iron
by Contributed - Story: 54955
Jun 6, 2010 / 7:00 am
Jun 6, 2010 / 7:00 am
Canadian Dwight Kroening is running the Persona Oliver Half Iron Sunday to prove that organ donation works—24 years after receiving a heart transplant.
“The main reason I’m doing the run is to show that transplants work and to raise awareness of the need for everyone to sign a donor card or register on a donor registry if one has been set up in their province. Life is in us to give," says Kroening.
At age 26, Kroening, a sports enthusiast, was diagnosed with terminal heart disease — the result of a bacterial infection.
His heart was functioning at eight per cent, and he was not expected to live longer than two months. Heart transplantation was his only chance to survive.
Nearly three decades after his successful heart transplant, Kroening continues to lead an active lifestyle, racing in triathlons, marathons, and Ironman competitions for his love of sport and exercise. He has raced two sprint triathlons, four Olympic distance triathlons, three half Ironman triathlons, three marathons, and one Ironman.
He was the first heart transplant recipient to complete an Ironman. His proudest accomplishment to date is watching, alongside his wife of 25 years, his three boys grow to young adults.
“It’s exceptional. A heart transplant recipient completing a half Ironman race demonstrates the upper limits of human performance,” says Mark Haykowsky, Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, who has conducted research on Kroening’s performance and athletic ability as a heart transplant recipient for years.
“Dwight has the highest cardiorespiratory fitness ever reported for a heart transplant recipient. His exercise capacity is three times higher than the average heart transplant recipient and four per cent above an age-matched master athlete without a heart transplant. The majority of heart transplant recipients can exercise for one minute at a heart rate of 140 beats per minute while Dwight can exercise at this level for over 15 hours.”
“The main reason I’m doing the run is to show that transplants work and to raise awareness of the need for everyone to sign a donor card or register on a donor registry if one has been set up in their province. Life is in us to give," says Kroening.
At age 26, Kroening, a sports enthusiast, was diagnosed with terminal heart disease — the result of a bacterial infection.
His heart was functioning at eight per cent, and he was not expected to live longer than two months. Heart transplantation was his only chance to survive.
Nearly three decades after his successful heart transplant, Kroening continues to lead an active lifestyle, racing in triathlons, marathons, and Ironman competitions for his love of sport and exercise. He has raced two sprint triathlons, four Olympic distance triathlons, three half Ironman triathlons, three marathons, and one Ironman.
He was the first heart transplant recipient to complete an Ironman. His proudest accomplishment to date is watching, alongside his wife of 25 years, his three boys grow to young adults.
“It’s exceptional. A heart transplant recipient completing a half Ironman race demonstrates the upper limits of human performance,” says Mark Haykowsky, Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, who has conducted research on Kroening’s performance and athletic ability as a heart transplant recipient for years.
“Dwight has the highest cardiorespiratory fitness ever reported for a heart transplant recipient. His exercise capacity is three times higher than the average heart transplant recipient and four per cent above an age-matched master athlete without a heart transplant. The majority of heart transplant recipients can exercise for one minute at a heart rate of 140 beats per minute while Dwight can exercise at this level for over 15 hours.”
| Link: BC Transplant website |
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