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Fort Myers employment-law attorney Jason Gunter has redeemed himself.
Gunter, a double amputee, collapsed three miles from the finish line at the 2009 Hawaii Ironman Championships and lost his bid to become the first double amputee in the history of the contest to finish the race. He had earned a coveted spot by lottery for the chance to swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles on his bicycle and run 26.2 miles.
But Gunter got a second shot at the grueling race this year, finishing in 16 hours, 6 minutes Oct. 10, according to the official Ironman results posted online. Gunter snagged one of just five lottery spots reserved for disabled athletes this year.
Gunter's right arm and left leg were amputated after a boating accident in 1992 and he started racing to regain fitness. In an interview earlier this year with the Business Observer, Gunter acknowledged that he hadn't prepared for Kona in 2009. This time he incorporated exercises such as planks and squats to boost his core strength, which let him down at the finish in 2009.
Gunter also ran with a prosthetic leg with an electronic suction pump that fit snuggly to his limb and bike shoes custom-made by Simmons Racing in Cape Coral. Results online showed Gunter swam the distance in 1 hour, 30 minutes, biked seven hours and seventeen minutes and ran the marathon distance in six hours, 56 minutes.
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