Bowie TRYS a sporty challenge2 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Bowie Macmillan from One Tree Hill had heart surgery when he was just three months old, and at the end of March he completed his first Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon.

It was a big day for him, and his parents Sarah and Tony, who watched him cross the finish line at the Point England event.

Bowie, who turned 8 on 3rd April, took on the challenge alongside his friends, Ethan and Sammy and cousin Tyson, doing a few training sessions at home and a test ride at the venue before the big day.

“It was really fun. My favourite part was the biking,” says Bowie.

Born with the congenital heart defect, tetralogy of Fallot (when the baby’s heart does not develop properly in the womb), this was diagnosed when Bowie was four weeks old.

He underwent surgery at just three months, once he had grown big enough for the procedure. Bowie hasn’t needed heart surgery since, and is under regular care with yearly heart checks.

“Once a heart kid, always a heart kid,” says mum Sarah.

She says he’s as active as other children his age, and was off to cricket prize-giving after the triathlon. They hadn’t really thought about doing an event like the TRYathlon due to his condition, but when offered a free entry, Sarah asked Bowie if he wanted to give it a go, and he did.

“We thought, we’ll give it a go and see how he goes, and he coped well. He just goes and goes and doesn’t stop – though he was exhausted at the end.”

Sarah was able to be in the transition area during the event, to check in on Bowie, and then watch him with Tony at the finish line.

*The Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon is a summer event for children aged 6-15 years, and participants swim, cycle and run around age-appropriate courses. It’s held in various locations around New Zealand, and you can enter either as an individual or as part of a team of two. Every participant who enters receives a medal, certificate of achievement, official t-shirt, bag and swim cap and breakfast on the day.