Boris Shtonda, an IDF reservist who lost his right leg in combat in Gaza, has completed the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, one of the toughest endurance races in the world.
Shtonda crossed the finish line wrapped in an Israeli flag after 16 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds of racing. The course included a 3.8-kilometer swim, a 180-kilometer bike ride and a full 42-kilometer marathon. According to Arutz Sheva, he is the first Israeli with an above-knee amputation to finish the race.
As he approached the line, the race announcer set aside the usual finisher call to greet him personally. "Boris Shtonda, you are an Ironman," the announcer said, adding that he proves every day that anything is possible.
Shtonda, a fighter in the elite Duvdevan unit, was critically wounded in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza in November 2023, when an explosive device detonated at a tunnel entrance. His leg was amputated above the knee, and he went through about 20 surgeries and more than two months in the hospital, including nine days sedated and on a ventilator.
After months of rehabilitation at Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, he set out to rebuild his life on his own terms. He has since climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice on a prosthetic leg, finished his bachelor's degree in information systems at Ramat Gan Academic College, and married his wife Anna.
In April, he completed a half Ironman in Valencia, Spain, overtaking nearly 1,000 competitors and earning his place at the world championship.
