At age 20, Lynn Valley’s Jackson Saunders is the youngest ever to complete the three-day endurance race held in Penticton
Few people in the world would look at an Ironman Triathlon and think, ‘that seems a little short.’
But few people are as driven as North Vancouver’s Jackson Saunders, who recently completed the Ultraman Canada, a gruelling 515-kilometre endurance race in Penticton that involves swimming, cycling and running over very long distances.
Saunders not only crossed the finish line, but broke the event record as the youngest person to ever do so, at just 20 years old.
“I didn’t really go into this sport to be the youngest ever at anything,” Saunders said. “It was surreal to me, I couldn’t believe it.”
The previous record was set by Genzo Eto, who did the race at age 21 in 2017.
Over three days in the scorching July summer heat, Saunders swam 10 km across Okanagan Lake, biked 421 km and ran a double marathon of 84 km. The race tested both his physical and mental limits, as as each day of racing came with a 12-hour maximum time to finish.
Facing what felt like never-ending distances, there were moments Saunders thought he wouldn’t cross the finish line. But what pushed him through was remembering his late grandmother.
“She lived an amazing life [and] was honestly such an inspiration for me,” Saunders said. “When you do suffer a loss or something that you can’t control, it makes you work harder to make them proud and just do it for the people who can’t cause they’re not with us anymore.”
It also couldn’t have been done without the support of his family, he said, like his dad paddling in a kayak during the swim while his mom and sister drove to Penticton to watch him sprint to the finish line.
“It was a really hard race,” he said. “Just knowing I have people I can rely on for that, I’m really grateful.”
All the hard work paid off when he crossed the finish line, he said, but his body paid a price as well.
“The next day I was pretty sore,” he said. “But I could walk, I was fine. I could go for a run if I wanted to, it was crazy.”
Saunders was one of eight people to take part in this year’s Ultraman Canada, but he is no stranger to long-distance triathlons.
To participate, a person needs to have done a full-distance Ironman, which is 226 km (3.8-km swim, 180-km bike ride and a 42-km run).
In 2024, Saunders completed the last Ironman held in Penticton before the event moved to Ottawa. He got the invite for Ultraman Canada in December last year, but had mixed feelings.
“I was like ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ and I took it,” Saunders said. “I was kind of stoked and nervous at the same time because … it’s a crazy distance.”
The Lynn Valley athlete took on some heavy training to get ready for the Ultraman.
On top of the Ironmans, Saunders spent countless hours swimming. He also took on the North Shore’s triple crown, which is climbing and descending Grouse, Seymour and Cypress on a bike, all in one day. On weekends he would bike up to Whistler and back.
“It’s been a solo mission, this triathlete quest of mine,” he said. “It’s nerve wracking, but I also find peace pushing [my] body to its limits.”
Now, the triathlete is seeing if his achievement as the youngest Ultraman finisher can be etched into the Guinness World Records, and is considering taking on the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii next year.
“Even if I don’t, I still know that I’m the youngest finisher of this race, and that’s still cool in itself,” Saunders said.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.