Posted: October 17, 2005

Triathlon: Double-lung transplant recipient to compete at 2005 Ford Ironman Florida

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.—Scott Johnson (Wilmington, N.C.), a 33-year-old double-lung transplant recipient, will compete at the 2005 Ford Ironman Florida being held on Nov. 5 in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Doctors diagnosed Johnson with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that fills the lungs with thick mucus and depletes lung capacity, when he was two months old.

Johnson contracted bacterial pneumonia in 2001, which went undiagnosed for more than three months and consequently scarred his lungs to the point where he had to either receive a new pair or face certain death.

Johnson was admitted regularly to the hospital over a three-month span in 2001, where he slipped in and out of carbon monoxide comas and had to use an oxygen tank to survive. During his stint in the hospital, Johnson made a list of the activities he wanted to accomplish before he died, which included: scuba diving, scaling the Rocky Mountains, surfing in Costa Rica and competing in a triathlon.

Johnson received a new pair of lungs on Sept. 25, 2001. However, Johnson had to learn to walk again, as the muscles in his legs atrophied after being bedridden for two months leading up to surgery.

Johnson has since made a full recovery from the transplant and has competed in more than 15 triathlons to date. Johnson even traveled to New Zealand in 2004 to compete at Ironman New Zealand, but he was forced to drop out of the event at mile eight of the run.

Johnson will once again compete in a full-distance Ironman event at the 2005 Ford Ironman Florida and will try to become the first double-lung recipient to finish the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run.

More than 2,000 triathletes from around the world are expected to compete in the 2005 Ford Ironman Florida. Athletes will be competing for 80 qualifying spots to the 2006 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $55,000 pro-prize purse.