We told his amazing story earlier this year – in May South African triathlon star Richard Murray had to undergo heart surgery in May to deal with a heart condition called Atrial Fibrillation (AFIB). Somehow Murray was able to recover in time to head to the Olympics and race in Tokyo, although he decided not to compete in the individual race and was set to focus on the mixed team relay.
In the end, though, that dream was dashed when his countryman, Henri Schoeman, had to withdraw from the race due to a stress fracture. His journey piqued the interest of the Olympic organization, who highlighted Murray’s amazing story on its own site today – Richard Murray: Missing out on traithlon mixed relay despite remarkable return to fitnss six weeks after heart surgery.
This wasn’t the first time Murray found himself in comeback mode to be able to compete at the Olympics. After finishing 17th at the Games in London in 2012, as he geared up for the Rio Games he broke his collarbone in a crash at WTS Gold Coast. Despite missing two months of training, he managed to come back to finish fourth in Rio.
Speaking of fourth, Murray’s wife Rachel Klamer, took two fourth-place finishes at the Games in Tokyo – she finished fourth in the individual race, and repeated that finishing spot as part of the Netherlands’ relay team.
