Ironman 70.3 competitor bounces back

Triathlete Sarah Carlson, left, rides with a group of cyclists in the early morning on the South Hill. Behind her is Andy Bigelow. Carlson will compete in the new Half Ironman, which is this weekend in Coeur d’Alene. (JESSE TINSLEY jesset@spokesman.com)

Even on the worst day of her life, Sarah Carlson could count on her athletic ability.

As she entered a crosswalk in Manhattan in 2003, a man driving a stolen SUV smashed into Carlson and sent her flying onto the pavement.

“It was empowering, because even when I flew through the air, I remembered my ski training and to protect my head,” Carlson said.

The rest of her body was another matter. Carlson suffered internal bleeding, a compressed lower back and worst of all, a pelvis that was shattered into 40 pieces. She lay in a hospital for eight months and was told by some doctors she might not walk again.

Carlson had nine surgeries, but also had plenty of reasons to prove them wrong. The biggest were her two sets of twins back in Spokane, none of them over the age of 5.

“My motivation was my kids – my goal was to take them by myself to school,” said Carlson, who’s accomplished that and much more: Sunday’s Half Ironman in Coeur d’Alene will be little more than a stroll for the 52-year-old Carlson, who did a full Ironman two years ago/Jim Allen, SR. More here (paywall).