Athlete in Viral Box-Jump Video Takes On His Next Challenge: a Triathlon – runnersworld.com

For the millions of people who watched it on YouTube and other platforms, the video of 14-year-old Tim Bannon nailing a 20-inch box jump looked like a single triumphant moment.

What the clip didn’t show was the days and weeks of preparation beforehand.

Bannon was born without arms, and therefore lacks their swing for balance and momentum—something vital for launching a jump and nailing its landing. Throughout summer camp at NubAbility Athletics Foundation, a facility that prepares limb-different youth to participate in mainstream sports, he worked diligently on his core and hip strength and coordination.

He built up from an 8-inch jump up to 20-inch jump, which he first did with some physical support from his coaches. The last day of camp, he conquered it on his own. Fortunately, one of his coaches thought to grab a phone and capture the leap and the emotional hug afterward. He posted it on his Instagram, and it’s racked up over 570,000 views in little over a month.

It was “a big moment for me,” Bannon told Runner’s World by phone. This past weekend, the Hillside, Illinois, resident turned that focus and determination toward conquering a new goal, the Kids Tri that’s part of the Chicago Triathlon.

On Saturday, riding an adaptive tricycle steered by leaning and accompanied by a guide from the non-profit Dare2tri, he was due to tackle a 200-meter swim, 7K bike, and 2K run along the city’s lakefront. The course was shortened to a splash ’n’ dash—where they ran part of the swim course—due to choppy waves, but Bannon crossed the finish line in 52:46.

His mom Linda, who was also born without arms, competed as part of a relay team in the 24K biking leg of the sprint distance on Sunday. (She’d hoped to do the whole race, but is recovering from an ankle injury.) And dad Rick also caught the triathlon bug—he participated in the sprint distance triathlon Sunday, which was also changed to a duathlon (run, bike, run) because of the water conditions.

Their family athletic endeavors demonstrate the mantra Tim has repeated from a young age: “I can do everything everybody else does, just in a different way.”

The Family That Sweats Together

Linda and Tim were both born with what doctors believe is Holt-Oram syndrome, a genetic condition that causes changes in the way upper limbs develop as well as cardiac defects. Neither uses prosthetics. They do most things others would do with their arms, from brushing their teeth to fastening their bike helmets, with their feet.

Because of Tim’s heart problems—a scar crosses his chest, a remnant of the multiple surgeries he had beginning soon after birth—his parents have always encouraged him to partake in healthy physical activity.

“Any time we could find an opportunity to make movement fun and enjoyable, we took it,” Linda said.

Tim began swimming when the Make-a-Wish Foundation offered him a chance to surf in Hawaii in 2014 with Bethany Hamilton, the pro surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack. For about a year beforehand, he went to the YMCA regularly, so he’d feel comfortable in the water.

In fact, fitness has always been important for the whole family—Linda and Rick first met at the gym. But after years of marriage, raising a child, and other interests like theater, exercise had fallen a bit by the wayside for her, Linda said.

When she turned 40 last February, she decided to make a change. “A lot of people use getting older as an excuse to slow down and stop and become a little more sedentary,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to do just the opposite.’”

She heard about Dare2tri through a few of the other organizations she’s involved with and decided to check it out—and bring Tim along. They first started attending the group’s indoor functional strength and swimming classes last fall.

Throughout the autumn and winter, they fine-tuned their swimming technique, focusing on rhythm and breathing, said Keri Serota, Dare2tri’s co-founder and executive director.

Without arms to help power them, swimming comes down to core and leg strength, Tim said. He swims mostly freestyle, while Linda prefers to do laps on her back.

In the spring, they both competed an indoor triathlon; over the summer, each attended a Dare2tri camp for their age group. There, they honed their open-water swimming skills, worked on their running, and trained on the bike they share, a Trailmate Fun Cycle recumbent tricycle with a hammock-like seat.

“Leaning side to side moves and controls the bike—the front wheel’s on a swivel and the back wheels just follow,” Tim said.

Kimberli Nelson

At first, Rick was merely “our Uber driver” to all these activities, Linda said. But eventually, he started to join in on practice, too. In June, he completed Leon’s Triathlon in Hammond, Indiana, with a group of Dare2tri athletes who are veterans like he is.

“We’ve always been a really tight-knit little family, so this really is just one more thing for us to enjoy together,” Linda said.

Beyond “Inspirational”

The box-jump video was posted shortly before the kids’ triathlon camp, and its popularity took everyone by surprise. Viral fame has come with its pros and cons, Tim acknowledged. At first, he said, “my ego kind of grew.” But after a few days and some awkward public encounters, he understands why celebrities often go incognito.

What’s more, some stories and comments have echoed sentiments Linda hears often and finds offensive—that she and Tim should be applauded for merely existing, and Rick for staying with them.

“What I want people to realize is the challenges that I face oftentimes are imposed by society,” she said. “I’m pretty well functional in life, just doing things the way I do them.”

Of course, when the things she and Tim do include impressive plyometrics and multisport races, the narrative changes, said Serota, who co-founded Dare2tri in 2011 and also works as the athletes with disabilities coordinator for the Chicago Marathon.

Kimberli Nelson

“Our athletes are inspiring other people to get active and live healthy lifestyles not just because they’re a person with a disability, but because they’re doing things that people without disabilities aren’t doing,” she said. “There are a lot of people with two arms and two legs that can function just fine who can’t do a 20-inch box jump. And if this motivates them to get moving and get active and live healthier lifestyles, that’s sort of the goal.”

Perhaps most important is that the message reaches other children with disabilities and their parents, raising their expectations of what’s possible, Linda said. Serota agrees: “Kids rise to the occasion, and if you set the bar too low, that’s as high as they’ll go,” she said. “It’s obviously reframing society’s views on what people with and without disabilities can do, but also sometimes it’s even closer to home.”

If Tim motivates another person with a disability to try something they were once fearful of, he said, he’s grateful. But in the meantime, he’s a teenager with fading purple streaks in his hair starting a new school year and trying to figure out his place.

He’s not yet sure triathlon is his true passion—he’d like to play team sports, soccer or even football. Linda’s not too sure about that, but knows she’s raised a son with an independent streak, one who won’t let others’ rules define him. “We’re going to take it one step at a time,” she said.

Contributing Writer Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013.