PARTNERS IN PAIN
BY STEVE JACKSON
Multisport Magazine wants to dig a little deeper into the human element of our sports. The science is
fascinating, the technical elements essential but it’s the backstory that adds the colour. And whilst the
exploits of our para-athletes will always deserve increased and indeed equal billing, we also want to
acknowledge those that play their part in bringing those exploits to fruition. We’ve covered Dave Robertson,
the handler for Lauren Parker at the Commonwealth Games and in this issue we share the story of Paul
McGlynn, the humble guide for vision-impaired athlete John Domandl.
A TRIATHLON GUIDE'S PERSPECTIVE | PAUL MCGLYNN
H
ave you been in a triathlon and seen two triathletes
‘tethered’ together during the swim and the run leg or
have you seen triathletes on a tandem bike? If you have
competed in an ITU event, one of the two triathletes
would have the word Guide on their race suit. If so, you have good
enough eyesight to have seen a Guide with a Vision Impaired
(VI) triathlete.
To summarise this article at the outset, should you ever have the
chance of being a guide to a VI triathlete – do yourself a favour
and do it; it will take your triathlon experience to the next level.
Let’s start with how I ‘hooked up’ with John Domandl. John
is an exceptional triathlete who has been involved in triathlons
for the past 30 years. He has competed in triathlons from sprint
distance all the way up to and including Ultraman (John is the
only VI triathlete to have completed an Ultraman). John has a
condition called Retintis Pigmentosa (RP) which has left him with
less than 10% vision. A couple of years ago John had the goal of
completing an Ironman in under 11 hours, a goal that hadn’t been
accomplished by any VI triathlete. With the help of Peter Vaughan
and the Newcastle Triathlon Club, John and I got together to see if
we could give this goal a ‘good crack’.
At that time, my motivation for triathlon was starting to wane
as I had finally secured a slot at the ‘Big Dance’ in Kona (after
more than 25 years competing in triathlons with the last 10 years
competing in and finishing 13 Ironmans) after a fourth place in the
55-59 age group at IM Cairns in 2016. Until then, Kona had been
my only goal: in fact it had seemed to be my ‘forever’ goal as I was
still not getting any closer to qualifying even with my advancing
age. Anyway, I had an absolute ball at Kona in 2016; but following
this, what next? So, the timing of John and I coming together was
great for me. Hooking up with John helped bring back my
16 | MULTISPORT MAGAZINE
triathlon ‘mojo’.
John and I have now been together since June 2016. In that
time we have completed three Ironman races with a 10:53 at IMWA
in 2016 (where yes; John ticked the ‘first VI triathlete to go under
11 hours for an Ironman’ box). We have raced ITU Long Course in
Penticton in Canada (2017) and Odense in Denmark (in July this
year). We have also raced some other distances such as Olympic
and 70.3; as well as duathlons and aquathlons. One of the unique
things about our partnership is that we are both the same age:
born in 1960.
So, what is it like to be a guide to a VI triathlete? – well at first it
is ‘scary’ as a triathlon, by its very nature is normally an individual
sport; but as a guide it is a ‘team’ event, so your frame of reference
changes from being very self-centred to that of considering the
other person. Having said that it can be scary at first, the other
side of the coin is that it is extremely rewarding (but more about
that side later – let’s talk about the ‘scary’ side first).
As a guide the first thing you have to master is riding a tandem
bike. The speeds you can get a tandem up to when going downhill
can be terrifyingly fast. With riding a tandem, I use the analogy
of driving: going from driving a family car to driving a B-double
truck. Once you get comfortable with riding a tandem and the
coordination of riding with another person, the benefit I believe is
that you become a far better solo rider.
The key to a successful VI/Guide team is communication. During
triathlons, my voice is John’s eyes. Throughout the bike and run
leg, my main job is to talk John through what we are doing and
what is coming up. There are also some unusual tasks as a guide.
An example is that my job in T1 and T2 is to keep the (very well
intentioned) volunteers away from John’s T1 and T2 bags, as John
knows what is in his bags and how they are packed (and therefore