Össur News

27 October 2005

Össur's own Sarah Reinertsen becomes first female amputee to complete the legendary Hawaiian Ironman Course

25 October, 2005
Aliso Viejo, California, USA

Össur, a trusted and leading global supplier of prosthetic and orthotic devices, takes pleasure in announcing that two of its employees, Sarah Reinertsen and Peter Harsch, completed the 2005 Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championships on October 17th.  Approximately 50,000 athletes attempted to qualify for this year's event - widely considered the toughest endurance competition in the world -- but only 1,800 made it to the final round in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  

After missing the bike cutoff time by 15 minutes last year, Össur North America's marketing manager and Team Össur member Sarah Reinertsen became the first female amputee in the world to complete Hawaii's Ironman Championship which took place on the Big Island on October 15th.  Sarah, standing 5 ft. tall and weighing in at 95 lbs. of solid muscle, finished in 15 hours, 5 minutes and 15 seconds.  Sarah has been an above-the-knee (AK) amputee since she was 7 years old, so she relied on Össur's award-winning prosthetics to train for the competition and accomplish her goal:

Sarah's running leg:

• Total Knee 2100®
• Flex Run? foot
• Iceross Dermo® liner

Sarah's cycling leg:

• Total Knee 2000®
• Vari-Flex® modified foot
• Iceross Dermo® liner

Over the years, Sarah has also enjoyed the support of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a San Diego-based non-profit organization which provides opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities to pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and competitive athletics.
Additionally, Peter D. Harsch, CP, a regional clinical manager for Ossur North America, placed 80th out of 200 in what is considered the most competitive age group, in 9 hours, fifty six minutes and 23 seconds.  Peter logged 137,000 miles serving Ossur clients this past year, yet still found the time to train and complete the harrowing course.
These two remarkable individuals came under intense pressure, going against the toughest competition imaginable, with no margin for error, stated Eythor Bender, president of Ossur North America.  They are true champions, and all of us at Ossur are fiercely proud to say that we know them. 

Domestic and international media have embraced Sarah's inspirational story

The story of Sarah Reinertsen's second attempt to complete Hawaii's Ironman was the subject of ABC?s Nightline broadcast on October 21st, and much more media coverage is in the works, including pieces about her in Sports Illustrated magazine, the Associated Press, Good Morning America, and Fox Sports.

Both Sarah and Peter will be featured on Sunday, October 30th -- (taped) 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. or 3:00pm - 4:00pm (in late NFL markets) -- on CBS?s sports spectacular Arete Honors for Courage in Sports.
NBC?s special Ironman broadcast is slated to air on November 12th at 4:30pm EST / 1:30 PST, and The Learning Channel will focus on Sarah for a special series scheduled to air in February of 2006 called Super Humans.

You?ve already got to be an Ironman to even compete in Hawaii's Ironman

There are many Ironman events that take place all over the world, but for this event, you must qualify by placing in the top 8 in your age group in qualifying races.  Up to 1,800 competitors, ages 18-80, compete from 50-plus countries and all 50 states.  50,000 competitors, on average, attempt to qualify at Ironman qualifying races worldwide.

Hawaii's Ironman course is cursed for its degree of difficulty and praised for its unequalled beauty.  Competitors have 17 hours to finish a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race through lava fields with notorious winds reaching up to 50 miles per hour, and a 26.2-mile run, culminating in the final miles down a pitch dark Alii Drive to the finish line where 25,000 admiring fans cheer them on.  Cut-off times are also applied to the swim (2:20 after start of race) and the bike (10:30 after the start of race).  Like Cinderella, if you don't finish by midnight, you are not an Ironman. 

Ossur

Ossur (Icelandic Stock Exchange: OSSR) is a trusted and global leader in the development, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing of high technology orthopedic and prosthetic devices. With its head office in Reykjavik, Iceland, the company's U.S. sales and marketing headquarters are located in Aliso Viejo, California; the Canadian office in Vancouver, BC; the Nordic office in Uppsala, Sweden; and the European office in Eindhoven, Holland. The company has a considerable distribution network in other markets and over 900 employees worldwide.

Given its mission to offer people a life without limitations, Ossur allocates an industry record of approximately eight percent of its revenue on medical technology research and development, and provides extensive education programs through the Ossur Academy.  The company also sponsors a variety of community outreach programs and non-profit organizations. 

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