The win for Josh Cassidy at the Boston Marathon this week is triumph on so many levels, and the latest personal victory for the former St Mary’s Mustang.
Cassidy who hails from Burgoyne, won the wheelchair division in a world record time of one hour, 18 minutes and 25 seconds beating the world record time by two seconds.
Truthfully, while I remember the moment, I had to look up the year, actually years, that Cassidy thrilled those in attendance at the Bluewater Track & Field Championship.
In the Spring of 2001, Cassidy competed in the Bluewater 1,500 metre wheelchair race, which in fairness, was a relatively novel competition.
On that day in 2001, I remember watching from the track shed tower, as Cassidy rumbled around the Kincardine track and posted an amazing time of just over 8 minutes.
In the year that followed, Cassidy worked out and upgraded his mode of travel, coming back in 2002 with a modified racing chair.
Again watching from the tower, I got chills watching Josh Cassidy circle the track 4 times, smashing the record he had set just one year earlier, by 4 minutes.
And while that Bluewater record, to me, represents a monumental accomplishment, it turns out it was just the start for Josh Cassidy who competes internationally on an annual basis, won the Boston Marathon two days ago, and looking ahead, will shoot for Olympic Gold this summer at London
I’m Fred Wallace