SEAN Wright was barely able to swim 50 metres, even before a serious accident left him with a badly dislocated shoulder.
That makes it all the more extraordinary that 18 months after tearing most of the tendons in his arm, he completed the notorious Ironman competition – one of the most gruelling endurance races on the planet.
If a 2.4-mile open-water swim were not enough to start off with, competitors then have to spend 112 miles in a bicycle saddle before finishing with a 26.2-mile marathon.
Sean, a 48-year-old osteopath from North End in Warley, admitted it took nearly a week before he could walk properly following his first challenge on September 16.
However, the father of three says he is now hooked after completing that inaugural race – Challenge Henley – in a time of 10 hours, 37 minutes.
He came second in his age group and 47th overall out of 320 starters.
Sean told the Gazette: "The day after, I had to crawl up the stairs and come down on my bum.
"The legs just weren't working at all.
"The day after that it was a bit better and by the end of the week I'd stopped walking like Douglas Bader and was almost back to normal.
"Through the race the body is asking all the time 'can we stop now'?
"But I found it a strangely surreal, painful, but also a very enjoyable experience.
"You have to have a certain mentality to do it.
"For me it's knowing that you have put in all the hard work."
To prepare for his first challenge, Sean spent up to 20 hours training each week for nine months.
He had already competed in road cycle races before.
Yet before he could take part in Ironman he had to learn to swim the equivalent of 156 lengths in open water – no small task for a man who, in his own words, could just about keep afloat.
It was after dislocating his shoulder in January 2011 – he fell through a hedge while working as a tree surgeon – that he decided he would start training as soon as he recovered.
In October 2011, he jumped into the pool.
He said: "It was a real struggle but I concentrated on breathing and technique but then one day it just clicked and I did 40 lengths.
"I actually quite enjoy swimming now."
Sean, who raced in Henley in aid of Saint Francis Hospice, where his mother Judy Wright received care in her final days, is now preparing for his next Ironman in Bolton next year.
He is also offering advice and training to cyclists, runners and triathletes through his sports endurance training company Blue Zone.
More details can be found at www.trainingright.co.uk