Pro file: Gina Ferguson (Crawford)

Gina Ferguson gives a high 5 to a fan as she runs down Ali'i drive in
Kona. Photo courtesy Gina Ferguson-Crawford

Life hasn't stopped for Gina Ferguson since she was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition called bicuspid aortic valve after she collapsed on the bike course at Challenge Roth this year. In addition to continuing to race in Ironmans since being diagnosed, Gina is also getting married before toeing the line at Kona as Gina Crawford.

Gina's heart should not have any bearing on her performance, since it is a condition that went undiagnosed since birth and has not prevented her from winning five Ironmans and setting two course records. Rather, her diagnosis has caused a slump in 2009 because her heart isn't in it, so to speak. "My heart's completely normal at the moment, it just means that you might have problems when you're older,” Ferguson explained to Jane Sewell of The Press, a Kiwi news source. "I want to make this clear," she went on in her blog in July. "This has been with me since before I was born (the heart is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy) and is not something that has happened over time, or from me competing in Ironman races. It is also in no way connected to what happened to me at Roth. Of course this has come as a shock to me. I really, really wish I did not find out about this." She went on to say, "I am grateful that I was able to live 28 years of my life without knowing about this, as I can safely say that if this had been known when I was a child I would never have been pushed into sport and certainly would never have achieved what I have today. I would have thought that something such as an Ironman would have been an impossible task." Gina is not the only athlete to succeed in Ironman despite a congenital condition. Canada's Lisa Bentley won six Ironmans despite suffering from cystic fibrosis. As a rising star in Ironman, we hope that Ferguson can overcome her trepidation and recover her mojo once more to continue her rise to the top, proving the Ironman motto that "nothing is impossible."

Gina Ferguson-Crawford's Statistics

Nationality: New Zealand

Age: 28

Career highlights: 

• 1st place Ironman New Zealand 2009 
• 1st place Challenge Wanaka 2008 & 2009 
• 1st place Ironman Western Australia (course record) 
• 1st place Ironman Wisconsin (new course record)
• 8th place Ironman World Championships 2008

What she rides: CEEPO Killer

Sponsors: K. Swiss, CEEPO, JUCY, Leppin, Blue Seventy, Oakley, Continental, Em’s Power Cookies, Fi’zi:k