20 Years After The Crawl

In 1997, Sian Welch, now 50, crawled across the finish line of the Ironman World Championship on Kona, Hawaii. In third place very late in the long...20 Years After The Crawl. In 1997, Sian Welch, now 50, crawled across the finish line of the Ironman World Championship on Kona, Hawaii. In third place very late in the long race, Welch faded dramatically and suddenly found herself crawling for fourth against another failing athlete, Wendy Ingraham. The footage of the indomitable pair’s struggle to the finish line has simply become known as “The Crawl.” Welch says her life at the time was focused on winning the competition that consists of a swim, 112-mile bike ride and footrace. But when Welch’s husband and training partner was diagnosed with a heart condition, Sian’s training came to a halt. Greg Welch was a world-renowned triathlete who won the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 1990 and the Ironman World Championship in 1994. In 1999, he was told he would never rac