Hawaii Ironman: An Irongirl’s Story: A TDA Many athletes go through trials and tribulations to meet a goal or get something they desire, and the story “Hawaii Ironman: An Irongirl’s Story” shows this extremely well. Greta, who is the main character in this story, is a triathlon athlete. She competes in the triathlon event, which consists of a two- and four-tenths-mile swim, then a bike ride of 112 miles, and finally, the race ends with a marathon. People who compete in this event are exceptional athletes, and the author uses this to build upon the theme. The author develops the theme “To finish is to win” using the training Greta did before the race and the difficult challenges she faced while racing. The theme of finishing is winning is demonstrated by …show more content…
She was out on coastal roads, logging a weekly average of two hundred miles of biking and running between thirty-five and fifty miles” (Para 2). Greta was persistent enough to go out every day and train to be able to complete the Hawaii Ironman. She ignored potential distractions, such as choosing to get a job, socializing with her friends, or relaxing at home. Greta instead devoted hours and hours to her training to achieve her goal. This dedication serves as a way to develop the theme; it shows the importance of perseverance to achieve what one desires. An athlete or someone who wants to achieve a goal needs to put in time and effort to be able to finish and get to that goal, and the author was able to develop the theme using this. She decides to train instead of doing all the other things, which further sets the point of her wanting to complete the Hawaii Ironman. The author also showed how Greta faced difficult challenges during the race, which further added to the theme. The author stated, “The first hill was tough, a steep ascent up Palani Road... Fighting numbness in her arms, she maintained a steady pace. She forced herself to eat a protein bar.” (para 5, para
Lynne met an Egyptian swimmer, and he explained what to expect in the English Channel, especially the cold. She got used to the cold by wearing only sandals, shorts, and t-shirts all day. When she got to England, she needed to find a pilot to help guide her through the waters. Her pilot, recommended that she swim from England to France. During the race, at 11pm, she bumped into bunch of lettuce and she fight against the current. She was determined to break the world record. To finish the race, she had to land on the rocks. When she did, she had lots of cuts from the rocks and mussels. She broke the record with 9 hours and 57 minutes. When she swam Cook Strait, she was a bit stubborn and angry at her dad and coach, but she finished the race. She was the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, Bering Strait, and Cape of Good Hope. It was hard for Lynne to swim the Strait of Magellan because they occurred a few problems. She could barely stay in the cold water for two hours, the storms didn’t help out the situation, and when she almost made it to the shore, the whirlpool almost dragged her in. She got help out of the water and felt accomplished. When she was swimming the Cape of Good Hope, she almost got eaten by a shark. During her
The passage, Hawaii Ironman: An Irongirl’s Story, is about Greta, a triathlete. The passage explains what her journey to qualifying and then competing in the Hawaiian triathlon was like. The passage informs us on all of the training, determination, and perseverance Greta had. The passage then explained what running the Hawaiian Ironman was like. A race that consisted of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles all in the hot, Hawaiian heat. The author uses details from the journey she went through in order to qualify for the race, her thoughts and feelings while competing in the race, and Greta’s feeling and mindset when she finishes the race to develop the theme that to finish is to win.
Throughout life you encounter a numerous amount of obstacles. These obstacles don’t define you, how you handle them does. In the book “The Running Dream” by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica encounters the biggest obstacle that life could throw at her. Jessica has had to learn to adjust her life from what it was. Her life is changing and she has to decide if this accident defines who she is going to be while being surrounded by the love and comfort of her family.
Throughout life people encounter a numerous amount of obstacles, some of these obstacles can be tougher than others. These obstacles don’t define who you are, how the situation is handled does. In the book The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica encounters a tremendous obstacle that life could throw at her. Jessica has had to learn to adjust her life from the way that she used to live. Her life is changing and she has to decide if this accident defines who she is going to be while being surrounded by the love and comfort of her family.
A huge part of the story showed how a person could overcome all the odds to become successful is feats such as sports and other activities. Most sports champions show great endurance to win many competitions. Similarly, Hillenbrand indicated that Louis, a competitive runner, trained until “he (had) rubbed the skin right off one of his toes, (leaving) his sock bloody” (Hillenbrand 23). As a result of all the hard work, Louis overcome struggles such as a bleeding shin, broken ribs, and a damaged toe to set time records for many races. In my experiences, I see many people take sports and other extra-curricular activities as a burden without embracing the challenges. In contrast, Louis illustrates the rare athlete and human being who seeks solutions to
Throughout life people encounter a numerous amount of obstacles, some of these obstacles can be tougher than others. These obstacles don’t define who you are, how the situation is handled does. In the book The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Jessica encounters a tremendous obstacle that life could throw at her. Jessica has had to learn to adjust her life from the way that she used to live. Her life is changing and she has to decide if this accident defines who she is going to be while being surrounded by the love and comfort of her family.
Morace, Robert A. "The Swimmer: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994.Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
As a teen, Zamperini acknowledges that great things demand hard work and if a person is exceptionally persistent, he will become unstoppable to achieve his goal. The words, “A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain (34)” illustrates Zamperini as a strongminded character. Although this quote has only been said in chapter four, it remained remarkable since the beginning of the story. These were the words of Pete that resonates in Zamperini’s head during the exhilarating moments he encounters. Pete is a loyal friend of Zamperini and the coach who never gets tired to motivate Zamperini. The inspiration words of Pete also echoes the social commentary of the human experience that people at any point in their life will experience pain, and the question is not why they have to suffer. But, will the outcome worth the pain. Since, everyone has the free will to decide which goals they desire to accomplish, it is also essential for them to realize that accomplishment is the product of hard work. In the novel, Zamperini strives to win Olympics for distance running. He trained so hard to prepare for this big competition that he begins to be numb from any pain. Therefore, Zamperini as a teenager discovered his defiance character is indeed the key into running. Due to perseverance, he uncovers a phenomenal gift that lead him
Jarena Lee was born on February the 11th 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. She was born into freedom, but Cape May was entangled by just enough commerce and culture, with Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Virginia’s northern borders, that she probably was exposed at an early age, to the inhumanities that characterized southern enslavement. At the age of seven, Lee was separated from her parents and sent to live as a servant maid for a Caucasian family sixty miles away from her home. The names and occupations of her parents are unknown, but what is about them is that they were entirely ignorant of the knowledge of God and because of that had not instructed her in any way regarding the matter of God or religion. Lee’s lack of the knowledge of God caused her great confusion throughout her spiritual journey.
Award-Winning author Laura Hillenbrand writes of the invigorating survival story of Louie Zamperini in her best selling book, Unbroken. Louie Zamperini was an ambitious, record-breaking Olympic runner when he was drafted into the American army as an airman during World War II. On the mission that led him to embark on a journey of dire straits, Louie’s plain crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving only him and two other crewmen as survivors. Stranded on a raft in shark infested waters, without any resources or food, and drifting toward enemy Japanese territory, the men now have to face their ultimate capture by Japanese, if they survive that long. Louie responded to his desperation with dexterity, undergoing his plight with optimism and confidence, rather than losing hope. In this memorable novel, Hillenbrand uses a vivid narrative voice to divulge Louie’s tale of endurance, and proves that the resilience of the human mind can triumph through adversity.
Imagery such as “Deliberately fracturing glass moving down through pools'; conveys the mental picture of the water being glass shattered with every stroke. Shattering glass suggesting danger and fear. “Barely missing the moon’s pale hiss,'; portrays the image of a deadly snake, heightening the risk of the challenge. The depiction of “white nudes between each sizzling shaft,'; brings to the reader the vulnerability the swimmer feels running from one danger to another. Also, the affect of a challenging computer game is again played. The swimmer is like a loosing player challenging each feat and then faced with yet another.
Wangyot is a transgender female, so she was born a man but identified as a woman. Her school administration worked together to come up with a policy to allow Wangyot to compete during the school year because she wanted to participate in girl’s volleyball, girl’s basketball, and girl’s track. Wangyot decided she wanted to participate in these sports because she wanted to set an example for all other transgender students interested in being a student-athlete. In the state championship race, Wangyot placed third in one event and fifth in another. Wangyot showed that there is not much of an advantage to her because she did not win.
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
The loud, sharp voice of the course marshal brought me back to the present. The gun rang above the crowd, and hundreds of girls converged to begin the race. As we jostled and sprinted down the first hill, I saw my junior year before my eyes. While the first race of the season would end well, I would slow down at each successive meet. Failure was a large part of that season, but the key would be learning from it, something with
Finish, Finish, Go, and Go you just set the new world record. Every four years lots of people gather around a pool cheering for Olympians. It is a very noisy place. A lot of Olympians that are part of the summer Olympics are very athletic, they swim all year around. The swimming Olympic history and background is very interesting. They have done so many new things over that past couple of years. They come out with new rules every year to make things more fair and challenging. There are a lot of events and tons of records that have been broke. A lot of Olympians have set future goals to stride for. I was swimming the 200 meter fly I was at a really good time when I had 50 meter sprint left at the end all I could think about was I’m going to set the new world record. Olympic swimming is a very fun sport it is very athletic. Every year in the summer time every one always sits around a TV watching this it is very famous in America. Swimmers from all around the world come and here and compete. There is a lot of competition there I have found out a lot about the history of swimming. There are a lot of events and tons of records that have been broke. A lot of Olympians have set future goals to stride for.