Heart of a Champion (19 page)

Greg concentrated on leaving the past behind him and focused on the things that were important to him in the future—his wife, kids, family, friends, his new career. He accepted his medical condition as a physical problem that must be dealt with. He understood that his mental state had been driving some of his physical reactions, and he worked to address that situation with increasing success. Gradually, he was able to appreciate the beauty around him: the grey mists that had shrouded his life receded, and the colours returned.

‘Now I know what people who are feeling suicidal must be thinking and it's terrible. It's terrible. I never, ever felt suicidal, but I was feeling unhappy and wondering what my purpose was. I didn't really have a purpose. I felt I was a burden.

‘Initially, I couldn't break it though, I just couldn't break it because my insides were telling me to just do what you do and that was to be stubborn and put things off. As I made progress, I was getting less anxiety, I was getting less v-tach. I switched over to a new medication and it started working for me.

‘My anxiety level went from 100 per cent all the time, down to, probably, 5 per cent now. It's still present. It's a simple reminder that I have a problem. That's all it is. It's a simple reminder, nothing more than that.

‘It was almost like there was a barrier there, and once I sort of got my little finger through it, something was pulling me to the other side, pulling me through it and pulling me through it, little bit by bit. After about two months I was getting it and after three months I got it.'

Looking back, Greg sees that as he reduced his stress levels, his overall mental state and his feeling of wellbeing also improved. He realises this came about through a combination of different elements that kicked in at various stages of his fightback. His ability to calm himself with breathing exercises played a significant role. But Sian's ‘tough love' approach was a turning point.

‘I told Greg that his future was in his hands. He had to take some control and responsibility for his recovery. If he didn't, then all of the people who loved him couldn't help him past a certain point. I think I was pretty tough on him at times but I was convinced that I had to be because I know Greg so well. I knew he had the inner strength to push through all his problems but, during his darkest times, he couldn't find the confidence in himself to commit himself to fighting back with all his strength.'

Much of Greg's joy centres on his beloved girls. Both sides of their extended families adore them, especially their unabashed expressions of love and affection.

‘We taught our children to love and hug and kiss everyone we know, to express love and generosity and to be kind. Life is full of love, and sometimes people do not know how to express it. But how can you deny children this gift?

‘Annie and Emma bring joy to my life by the second. I couldn't imagine my life without children. It's amazing to see the transformation in Annie, watching a child completely reliant on you—from smiling for the first time to crawling then walking. Oh, hang on, our children skipped the walking and went straight into running. Mum did warn me!

‘I just love my girls so much. I never knew that love could double or even triple, but if you know how to love, you know how to live.

‘I'm now confident enough to care for them for days on end, whereas before it was so unnerving that I couldn't even face the thought of this when my health was really unstable. It's been a long road back, but I have finally made it. We're really enjoying life as a family. We're even getting a dog soon, so our responsibilities are going to kick up another notch.'

Sian has been able to regain control of her life too. She's working in real estate and has gone back to training for Ironman and the new half-Ironman 70.3 races. To some degree Greg and Sian's roles have reversed. Greg has the kids while Sian trains, then they swap over so Greg can go to work or sometimes catch a game of golf.

Their normal weekly routine sees Mondays with Greg and Sian having a fun day with the girls, going to Sea World or lazing around, cleaning the house, playing, walking on trails. Tuesdays, Greg heads off to Oakley where he works in their sports marketing, looking after athletes, sponsorships and marketing Oakley's eyewear. The girls now go to school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday so Greg is able to spend Wednesdays writing triathlon training programs for multisports.com for personal clients, perhaps sneaking in a game of golf or writing for ironmanlive.com and doing some consultancy work for World Triathlon Corp.

On Thursdays, Greg takes the girls to their individual ballet sessions and spends some cherished special time with each in turn. ‘I drop Emma off, and then Annie and I go and have a drink and gum or a lolly of some sort, before going back and watching Emma. At home I make lunch for the girls and then we go back to ballet with Annie. Sian usually goes training around these times and then we meet at a pizza place. It's a great day.'

On Fridays, when the girls are at school, Greg does more training programs or gets things done around the house. Saturday is Sian's big training day—about 6 hours straight—so Greg heads to the park with the girls, sometimes to McDonald's where Greg meets his agent and his kids.

Sunday is Sian's long run day, so Greg takes a walk on the local trails and then it's family time, usually at the beach or the pool. On the weeks when Greg travels to commentate on triathlon races, he usually leaves on Wednesday and comes home the following Monday. They get a babysitter in to help Sian when she needs to train or work on real estate business.

Greg now tries to appreciate every day of his life. He tries to live it in the moment. He's made some simple compromises—no running, no biking, no swimming; instead he plays golf or walks. He's happy and healthy, loves his family and children, and lives life to the full. He knows life is too short not to.

‘Nowadays, I always talk about how our life is so blessed. I just can't think about how much we are blessed. I've had times when I go back and I have these anxieties about little things or whatever, but I always have something to go back to.

‘Why should I have any issues? I have two wonderful children, an unbelievable wife, two wonderful families and nothing to be unhappy about. I've had an amazing journey and it's just started.'

Chapter 15
Friends

T
HEY SAY YOU CAN JUDGE A MAN'S CHARACTER BY HIS FRIENDS
and, especially, by the friends he keeps through his life. Friends have been one of the constants in Greg's life. He makes them easily and he retains them, drawing strength and comfort from them, and giving them love, joy and loyalty in return. Here's how some of his dearest friends think of him.

K
AY

Sydney physiotherapist Kay Macpherson is one of Greg's oldest and dearest friends. As a cancer survivor, Kay was able to bring a unique understanding to Greg's health problems. ‘When I look back at how far our friendship has come, I can only do so with great affection. We always had an affinity, but that is even stronger now as Greg and I have both experienced life-threatening illnesses. This has given us an understanding that no one else will ever know. It's one thing to watch someone you love be ill—and I certainly don't want to demean the difficulty that comes with that—but it's another to know exactly what the other person is going through.

‘I remember walking into Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and seeing Greg for the first time after one of his many heart operations. Physically Greg isn't a huge person but his demeanour usually is. But he looked like a frightened rabbit lying there in that hospital bed. I know that fear too well, and if I could have taken it away for him, I would have. It broke my heart.

‘Greg left us for such a long time. The sheepish looks that he used to give when you knew he was up to no good, the spark, the essence of who Greg always was, went out.

‘Looking back, I think I always knew it would come back…if he lived. I can remember him telling me that he didn't want to see anyone other than his close friends and family when he came back to Australia, which was so out of character for him. He loved a day down at Northies [pub] with all his mates. Greg can't drink alcohol any more. In fact he won't even drink coffee, so from that perspective his life has changed to some degree, but then Greg never relied on alcohol to assist his personality.

‘Greg is innately positive. He's never taken a wrong turn that hasn't led him to a better place, and I knew he could turn this into a positive. But it had to come from him, and it was a very slow process.

‘I think he feared what the future held for him if he couldn't be involved with what he loved, if he couldn't be the husband that he wanted to be to Sian, or the father that he had so longed to become to his two little girls.

‘Because Greg and I have been in similar situations, he was able to tell me things that others just couldn't understand…he even managed to laugh about doing the “Midnight to Dawn Shift”—you know, where you lie awake after everyone else is asleep and you worry if you are going to die, right up until the sun comes up.

‘I have seen the spark slowly come back to his life. Greg always knew that competing in triathlons at an elite level would come to an end one day. It just came sooner rather than later. What he didn't count on was not being able to be physically active. But I have watched as he has transferred all the unbridled energy that he once put into his sport, into working with other athletes, commentating, writing triathlon programs and being the wonderful father, husband and friend that he always was. I watch him share magnanimously in others' success.

‘We often talk about how lucky we are to have been through what we have been through. Greg told me once that he felt very sorry for all the poor bastards who will never know the joy of how precious life is— because they have never faced death. Only Greg Welch could think he was that lucky.'

P
AULA

Paula Newby-Fraser, the greatest female triathlete in history and one of the all-time greats in the sport, has been one of Greg's closest friends since they first met in Hawaii in the late 1980s.

‘One of the great lessons his ordeal has taught me and Paul is not to go back to the place that may set you back. Wherever he is, Greg always takes one day at least every week and does something for himself— usually golf. No phone, email. As he says, there is nothing in day-to-day living that cannot wait a few hours. No call is ever that urgent.

‘He has finally found a balance where he has created some space for himself and realised what he has to do. This, I think, was at the core of his troubles—never wanting to let anyone down. He wanted to do everything for everyone, train as hard as he could, be everyone's best friend, be the life of the party, and on and on—never putting himself first, ever.

‘Now with a family and two jobs, he has found that balance. I'm sure that lying in the ICU as long as he did helped him to come to that place. Much like being in endurance sports, where you're pushing until you find the limit—and then pushing more—you find a wisdom that sometimes most people come to much later in life, if at all. Greg has certainly found it, and understands that he is ultimately responsible for himself and needs to nurture that. He takes time for himself now—he accepts offers of help more easily. He knows now that he is human and has limitations. Prior to all of this, he certainly lived his life as if there were none.'

R
OCH

Roch Frey, a former triathlete and coach, is one of Greg's friends and his neighbour in Encinitas, San Diego.

‘This may all sound like a cliché, but Greg truly is special. This now shows in the way he handles his heart problems. Being close to him the past seven years through all the surgeries and doctors' visits, I noticed that he never once complained, but dealt with it. His demeanour transferred directly from racing to dealing with life and death: he never complained, but dealt with it and stayed positive.'

H
EATHER

Heather Fuhr, a former triathlete, is Roch Frey's partner.

‘I am a true believer that things happen for a reason, and there is no doubt in my mind that had the health problems that faced Welchy happened to anyone else, I don't think there is anyone in the world who would be able to handle the situation the way he did.

‘He has been a true role model for life. I have never seen Greg play the “poor me” card. He has remained positive through numerous life-threatening situations. There were a few times when I can honestly say that I wasn't sure if he was going to pull through. Greg took on this fight for his life as he took on everything else he did—with complete determination and conviction.

‘Welchy has certainly mellowed with everything he has gone through, but so have we all. Gone are the days of partying all night long and then going out for a long bike ride the next day. Greg now puts all this energy into being a wonderful father, and to giving back to the sport of triathlon. His girls Annie and Emma and his wife Sian mean the world to him, and you can just see this by the way his eyes light up whenever he is around them.

‘It would be very easy for someone who faced the health problems Welchy did to become very bitter and totally walk away from the sport of triathlon. Welchy has done just the opposite—he is now more involved than he was when he was an athlete. Greg adds a new, fresh perspective to all the things he does with Ironman. He has raced at the top level so knows what that takes, but at the same time, he sees the big picture and is doing everything he can to help the sport grow.

‘Greg has taught us all a great lesson—life is very precious, and we need to appreciate everything we have and live life to its fullest.'

N
ICK

Nick Munting met Greg early in his career as a sports journalist and they've been friends ever since.

‘The difference between Greg and most sportsmen is that normally sport doesn't follow the nice-guys-should-win philosophy. Greg takes that apart and spits it out. The nice guy does win.

‘He really puts family first. Family and friends. I get the feeling with Greg that friends are everything, they're as big as family. The guy may be 5 foot tall but he's got a 7 foot 6 heart!'

R
OBIN

Greg first met the actor and comic genius Robin Williams after the 1994 Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. Sian had won the women's race and Greg finished second in the men's. Scott Tinley introduced them to Robin—an avid sports fan—after the race. Robin had long been one of Greg's idols.

‘We met him and we just got on like a house on fire. Robin took us back to his house and we had lunch. He's such a lovely bloke. At one stage he got up and said, “I'll be back in a minute.” He went down to the local 7-11 store and came back with a dozen cans of Fosters. He said, “Here's something for you, mate.” And we just sat around drinking Fosters oil cans all afternoon.'

As they were leaving, Robin told them to be sure to visit him after the next year's race. They did, and it became one of Greg and Sian's most anticipated annual events.

‘We became really good friends. He invited us to stay with him. We went bike riding and rode to Hill Valley across the Golden Gate Bridge. One year, we were having a coffee in a little café nearby. People didn't recognise Robin because he still had his helmet and sunglasses on— until he started speaking. ‘Then everybody just started popping their ears up and all of a sudden, this coffee shop, which originally had about eight people in it, had 50, 60, 70, 80 people crammed in. It got too much for Robin and he bolted. Back on the road, the traffic was heavy. We stopped at a red light and Robin was doing his “Mork from Ork” mad stuff and cracking up two girls in a car. And then this guy, who'd been standing at a bus stop, reading the timetable, suddenly realised who he was. He said, “Oh my God, it's Robin Williams. Oh thank you very much, Robin Williams, thank you, thank you, thank you.” It was fantastic. I was laughing so hard, and he was just going off.'

As he got to know Robin better, Greg was delighted to find he was as natural as he appeared. ‘Every time we've had a dinner at his place after Alcatraz, he's always had his friends around and then made an afternoon of it. One year he flew back just to see me for one night even though he was filming. I'd stayed with his wife Marsha for the four or five days I was there. He came home on the Saturday night about 11 o'clock. Marsha and I had gone out for dinner, then came back and waited for him. We went through all of their Tour de France photos. He was dead tired and went to bed. But he hung out with me the next day before he had to fly back out.'

Greg is grateful for many lessons he learned from Robin, especially his ability to deal with fame. ‘He's a five-star celebrity, an A-grade celebrity, but he just wants to be a normal person. He goes to the local restaurants, he walks everywhere, he doesn't have a chip on his shoulder. He's very generous, very generous with charities and he and Marsha were very generous with me—especially when I had my health problems. As a matter of fact, they offered to help me with all my medical expenses and things, and I gratefully rejected the offer. They're very caring people. They were genuinely concerned for my health when I got sick. Marsha would call all the time and I really appreciated it.

‘I think Robin and I connect because we're both fun-loving guys and we love to joke around. I love to tell jokes, love to be funny, love to make people smile. He's a real genius. He brings a smile to every person's face around him. Making people feel good makes him feel good.'

The other connection between Greg and Robin is their love of sports. Robin is a fine tennis player and a devoted bike rider. ‘He loves to ride his bike. He's got about 60 bikes. Jay Leno has 200 cars. It's a lot easier to put 60 bikes in your garage than 200 cars. I'm sure he would have loved to be an athlete but then the world would have lost a comic genius.'

M
IKE

As MC at the Hawaiian Ironman finish line, Mike Reilly welcomes the finishers home with his famous cry, ‘You are an Ironman!' He and Greg have been friends since they met at Greg's first Ironman in 1987.

‘Greg has gone through more pain and uncertainty with his health than any of us can imagine. Every time he wanted to give up, I believe that carefree, strong attitude carried him through. He looks at life as his game and he sets the rules of success. I have the pleasure to be with him at many Ironmans worldwide, working the event. He has the ability to carry us all on his shoulders just by how he works and plays. His intensity and desire to do the best job possible for ironmanlive.com is equal to his racing days. There is no difference in how he approaches his work with that ever-smiling, fun attitude. How can we around him not feed off a passion like his! He may not know it, but he is the leader of the Ironman family that travels and works the events. I can't wait to get on the road and be with such an inspiration!'

‘There is nothing more important in life than your family. If someone asked me, “How would you describe Greg in one word?”, I'd say, “That's easy—family.” It is everything to him; it is his passion every waking moment, whether he is with them or 7000 miles away.

‘Your friends in life also have to be your inspiration and leaders. To be able to call Greg Welch a friend is truly my honour. If everyone had a Greg Welch in their lives, they would be much better off. We are lucky to have him, and the sport of triathlon worldwide would not be where it is today without him.'

K
EVIN

Kevin McKinnon is a former triathlete and journalist. He and Greg have been friends since they competed against each other in the early 1990s.

‘Every now and then you meet someone in your life who makes you feel better, and Greg's one of those people.

‘No matter what's going on, what happens, what's buzzing all around, when you walk away from hanging out with Greg, being with him or talking with him, you always feel better.'

B
OB

A former triathlete, Bob Babbitt is Ironman's premier historian. He and Greg have been friends since they first met in Hawaii in the late 1980s.