Tony Jackson Scholarship - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand

Following is the speech I gave at the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman NZ 2014 Awards Banquet when the Tony Jackson Scholarship was announced.

Tony Jackson Scholarship

My name is Verna Cook-Jackson.  Tony Jackson was my husband.

When Janette from IM contacted me last year to moot the concept of a Tony Jackson Scholarship I couldn’t have been more supportive. 

For all the years that Ironman has been in NZ Tony would have helped many very ordinary people complete some extra ordinary feats;  while at the same time managed to achieve being a quiet extra-ordinary person himself. 

Tony competed in every single NZ Ironman since its inception in New Zealand in 1985, until last year, when he was too ill to compete – the first NZ Ironman Tony was not able to compete in. Tony passed away exactly week after last year's Ironman.

Tony was a very ordinary, a happy man;  a man who quietly managed to mentor, encourage, guide, instruct and enthuse every day, ordinary people into doing things they had thought impossible to achieve.  

Back in the 1980’s, long before Ironman, or Asics or New Balance picked up on the saying, Tony would tell people, “Nothing is impossible” but he always added  …  “... to the willing mind.”   

Tony lived his life by that motto.  And to many, competing in any triathlon let alone an Ironman seemed a formidably impossible thing to achieve.  Yet Tony would show them that, with a willing mind, it was achievable. 

Tony started and finished the first NZ Ironman triathlon in 1985 at the age of 45.  It is refreshing when one reads his old diaries and realises how different it was then – their training, their methods – they were really tough Ironmen in those days.

Tony was never a world beater – but the records do show he could turn out some good times. He qualified for Kona many times, but only went 3 times – even managing to podium place at Kona, the Mecca of international Ironman events. 

Not by planning, but more by chance, as the years passed by Tony ended up completing every single NZ Ironman – and helping others do so;  that is, until December 2007.

At Christmas 2007 Tony was diagnosed with a brain tumour.  The worst kind of brain tumour one can have.  His Christmas gift was two major brain surgery operations with the outcome of the brain specialists telling him he now had the life expectancy of 12 weeks. 

Ten weeks later, with the thought of only having about 2 more weeks to live -  and in the middle of radiotherapy and chemotherapy Tony started and finished his, and New Zealand’s,  24^th NZ Ironman. 

Months after that he had to endure a further series of invasive major brain surgery; yet, once again, Tony started and finished the 2009 NZ Ironman;  the 25^th and even managed a 2^nd place in his age group.

In the months following that year's event Tony had yet more head surgery, this time with plastic surgeons who had to remove  and lift off his entire scalp, reshape his hairline and replace the scalp – he had staples and stitches around his entire head – yet in March 2010, Tony, again, started and finished the NZ Ironman, his 26^th.

The following summer Tony was still biking, swimming and running, but in January 2011 whilst out cycling with a good Ironman training mate, training for the 2011 Ironman, he suffered a mini-stroke.  

Whilst in Accident & Emergency at Auckland hospital he became paralysed down one side of his body.  

I reflect with bemusement the looks on the medics faces when at 11 o’clock  that night, in the Accident & Emergency department,  the medics rushing into our little cubicle to find Tony attempting to lean himself onto the side of the hospital bed trying to do a Pilates routine that he thought would help to get his paralysed side working again.  

Six weeks later in March 2011, Tony started and finished his 27^th NZ Ironman.  That was his 4^th Ironman that he completed after having been given the life sentence of 12 weeks to live 4 years earlier.

Two years ago in March 2012 with his willing mind, Tony started and finished what he knew would be his last ever Ironman.  It was his, and Ironman New Zealand’s 28^th 

Throughout all of those 28 years and particularly during the last 5 years of his own trials, Tony continued to help, and advise, and mentor others who had a goal of doing an Ironman – he proved to them  –..  “..if you have a willing mind, nothing is impossible.”

So last year when Ironman was on here in Taupo Tony was unable to be here.  He was back in Auckland, very ill in hospital.  But it was a special Ironman for Tony – for our son completed his own first Ironman – for us this was achieving the almost impossible – for no one would ever have expected this son to do an Ironman – a drinker, a smoker, a nigh clubber, a recidivist electric puha smoker – even to Tony this would have seemed impossible – yet the impossible was achieved - that son did for and because of Tony - Tony had taught him - a willing mind and he could achieve.

After finishing the son returned to Tony who was by then in hospice care and he presented the medal Tony in his hospital bed during the last ever moments that Tony had been conscious.  Tony gripped the medal in his left hand – he died five days later with that medal still in his hand.  

I am damned sure he would have arrived at the Pearly Gates and convinced St Peter that he had done his 29^th Ironman.

So this scholarship that Ironman NZ has developed comes with real meaning and purpose.  Over his 28 years of Ironmanning, and throughout those last 5 Ironman years, Tony would have helped, trained, coached, mentored, inspired, assisted and guided many people to achieve not only their first Ironman, but sometimes their 2^nd, 3^rd, 6^th or 10^th Ironman.  Ordinary people, whether 20 or 70, ordinary people, who without his encouragement would never have believed in themselves that they could achieve that personal goal.  Because of him they did.

This scholarship is New Zealand Ironman's way of continuing Tony’s and their belief to each person out there -  that, like everything in life, including Ironman -  ‘Nothing is impossible to the willing mind’.