An Iron-Distance Triathlon On All 7 Continents: Connor Emeny's World Record

Connor: On February 21st, 2024 I became the first person in the world to complete an Ironman Distance Triathlon on all 7 continents. This was a 4-year journey, starting in New Zealand on March 7th 2020. 10 days later the pandemic hit and the world shut down. It was a scary time, but I found a silver lining as I read about an Australian girl who became the youngest to do an Ultra Marathon on 7 continents. I wondered if anyone had done that for Ironman. No one had ever done all 7, the youngest to do 6 was 32 and I was 23 at the time. I didn’t know how (physically, financially, logistically) but all I knew was I was willing to go ALL IN on a dream and see it through. 

I believe the world is a hard place and Dreamers and Doers give people hope. When you Dare to Dream, you help others around you tap into their greatness. So, I put my head down in isolation and trained countless hours. As soon as the world opened up I completed 5 more Ironmans in 18 months, racing IM Chattanooga, IM Mallorca, IM South Africa, IM Philippines, and IM Brazil. 

There were so many hard moments – races getting canceled, my bike breaking, getting stuck in quarantine in a foreign country for 14 days, and balancing working full time with training 20+ hours a week. The thing that drove me was seeing the positive impact my journey was having on those around me. People who struggled with mental health challenges and addiction started running again. Friends who were at an all-time low reached out to me saying they signed up for their first triathlon or running race. I never imagined making an impact on so many people. My journey became much more than a triathlon. It became about raising awareness for Men’s Health and sparking change in those around me. 

So when the 6th continent was finished, I knew I had to continue the momentum and embody my mantra Dare to Dream. I set course for Antarctica: a 2-year project to figure out the logistics and feasibility of doing an Iron Distance triathlon there. The result, I found a 15m sailboat and a team of 7 to set off on a 23-day expedition. 

Antarctica was by far the hardest thing I have ever endured. The 3.9km swim, 180km bike ride, and 42.2km run took me 32hrs 42min and 34s. I mostly used solid foods like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hearty soups, and avocados but brought Maurten and SIS Isotonic gels for fuel to help me through it. I also took a Ketone-IQ every 5 hours to help with energy and focus. 

For reference, my last Ironman in Brazil was just over 11 hours. This was nearly 3 times as long. The swim was -1 degrees Celsius. My teeth froze, my legs were like cement blocks and a wild seal was chasing me. If that wasn’t enough physical torture, I did the 180km on a fat bike, doing a 200m circle loop 900 times –pure mental torture. The run was a combination of pain and euphoria as I knew I was 42km away from conquering my biggest dream and doing something that’s never been done before. 

In terms of what’s next, my team and I are working on a documentary called Chasing Antarctica. You can follow me on Instagram @connor.emeny or visit www.chasingantarctica.com for updates on when the documentary will be out. The film is a story much larger than me. It’s about the human spirit and what it means to Dare to Dream. It highlights the unsung heroes who helped me along the way and amplifies the power of believing in others and believing in yourself.

Header photo: chasingantarctica.com