Lincat's Iron Man survives earthquake to compete in World Championships
Eric Wintersgill (55), Technical Director of Lincat Ltd, the Lincoln-based manufacturer of commercial catering equipment, recently competed in the long distance triathlon ‘Ironman’ World Championships, in Hawaii on 21 October.
Competing against a total of 1,800 athletes from all over the world, Eric came 25th out of 50 competitors in his age group, and 1,300th overall.
An Ironman race requires competitors to swim 3.8km (2.4 miles), cycle 180km (112 miles) and then run a full marathon (42 km/26.2 miles). Athletes compete in age groups, with Eric taking part in the age 55-59 segment of the competition. Eric completed this amazing feat in just 12 hours and 46 minutes. But the competition nearly faced disaster - the day after Eric and his family arrived in Hawaii, the Big Island experienced its worst earthquake in 25 years.
“It was a frightening few minutes,” said Eric. “We were in Kona, just 12 miles away from the epicentre and seemed to feel the full effects of the tremors. It caused quite a lot of structural damage, but fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities; and they managed to repair the road in time for the competition! Local government authorities have since estimated that the repair bill will exceed £100 million.”
He continued....
“Competing in the World Championships was an amazing experience. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and was just blown away by the scale of the event. I’ll certainly never forget it!”
For several weeks before the contest, Eric trained in Lincat’s heat and humidity testing laboratory in order to acclimatise to Hawaii’s hot and humid conditions. He takes up the story…
“Earlier this year we launched a new range of food display merchandisers which contains no fewer that 32 refrigerated models. In order to ensure that the new equipment would be able to perform in adverse conditions, we built a heat and humidity testing lab. This enables us to test equipment in temperatures up to 32oC and 80% relative humidity.
“When I knew that I would be heading out to Hawaii – where the temperature and humidity can reach similar or even higher levels – our testing lab became the obvious training venue! So I spent up to two hours per evening in the lab on my turbo trainer, gradually turning up the heat and humidity.”
Eric, who lives in Lincoln with his wife Trish and son Adam, took up triathlon at the age of 50. He had until that point always enjoyed running and playing squash, but was looking for a new challenge. Eric was accompanied on his trip to Hawaii by Trish and Adam, who enjoyed the experience as much as he did.
With purpose-built manufacturing facilities in North Hykeham, Lincat's extensive product range includes fryers, griddles, grills, ovens and combi steamers, as well as beverage equipment, hot cupboards, trolleys and food display merchandisers. Lincat Ltd is part of the Lincat Group of companies. Sister companies IMC Ltd and Britannia Kitchen Ventilation Ltd operate in the commercial catering equipment sector. Lincat Group company Mercury Appliances Ltd designs and manufactures domestic cooking appliances.
For further information please contact:
Sales information:
Nick McDonald
Marketing and Export Director
Lincat Limited
Tel: 01522-875500
Fax: 01522-875530
Email: nick.mcdonald@lincat.co.uk
Publication or editorial enquiries:
Julie Leydon
Press Officer for Lincat Limited
Tel: 01482-649343
Fax: 01482-646644
Email: julie@bluestormdesign.co.uk