It was October 13, 2012, a day that I will never forget. I was on my bike, pushing up what seemed like a never-ending barren hill. And it wasn't just any hill: it was a 15-mile climb up to a town called Hawi on the Big Island of Hawaii. And it wasn't just any ride: it was at the Ironman World Championship. I can still feel my muscles burning. I was struggling, tired and dehydrated, as I could feel the heat emanating from the asphalt, measuring almost 98 degrees. I was near the halfway point of the bike portion of one of the most prestigious, longest, single-day endurance race events in the world.
Tanggal 13 Oktober 2012, hari yang tak akan kulupakan. Aku sedang bersepeda, menyusuri bukit tandus yang seakan tak berujung. Dan ini bukan bukit biasa, melainkan tanjakan sejauh 25 kilometer menuju kota bernama Hawi di Pulau Besar Hawaii. Dan ini bukan perjalanan biasa, melainkan Kejuaraan Dunia Ironman. Aku masih bisa merasakan nyeri ototku. Aku berjuang, kelelahan dan dehidrasi, dan bisa kurasakan hawa panas memancar dari aspal, yang hampir 37 derajat Celsius. Aku hampir separuh jalan etape bersepeda di salah satu ajang lomba ketahanan satu hari paling prestisius dan paling lama di dunia.
Every year, during my childhood, I watched this very race on TV in our family living room. I sat next to my dad on our 1970s-style orange and brown sofa, and I remember being in utter awe at how these athletes pushed themselves to their limit in this grueling race. And just so you don't get the wrong idea, my family members weren't just spectators. They were incredibly athletic, and I always participated from the sidelines, cheering on my three siblings or handing out water at local races. I remember wanting so badly to be able to compete, but I couldn't.
Setiap tahun, sewaktu kecil, aku menonton lomba ini di TV ruang duduk keluargaku. Aku duduk di sebelah ayahku di sofa oranye-cokelat model 1970-an, dan aku ingat luar biasa kagum menonton para atlet ini berjuang habis-habisan di lomba yang melelahkan ini. Agar Anda tidak salah tangkap, anggota keluargaku bukanlah penonton biasa. Mereka sangat atletis, dan aku selalu berpartisipasi dari garis pinggir, menyemangati ketiga saudaraku atau menyerahkan air di lomba setempat. Aku ingat sangat ingin bisa bertanding, tapi tidak bisa.
Even though I couldn't play sports, I decided to be active in my community. I volunteered at the local hospital in high school. In college, I interned at the White House, studied abroad in Spain and backpacked through Europe all by myself with my leg braces and crutches. Upon graduating, I moved to New York City for a job in management consulting, earned an MBA, got married and now have a daughter.
Meski aku tidak bisa berolahraga, kuputuskan untuk aktif di komunitasku. Sewaktu SMA, aku menjadi relawan di rumah sakit setempat. Saat kuliah, aku magang di Gedung Putih, belajar di Spanyol dan berkeliling Eropa membawa ransel sendirian dengan penyangga kaki dan kruk. Setelah lulus, aku pindah ke New York City untuk bekerja sebagai konsultan manajemen, meraih MBA, menikah, dan kini punya anak perempuan.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
At age 28, I was introduced to the sport of hand-cycling, and then triathlon, and by luck, I met Jason Fowler, an Ironman World Champion, at a camp for athletes with disabilities. And like me, he competed in a wheelchair. And with his encouragement, at age 34, I decided to go after Kona. The Kona, or Hawaii Ironman is the oldest Iron-distance race in the sport, and if you're not familiar, it's like the Super Bowl of triathlon. And the Ironman, for a wheelchair athlete like me, consists of a 2.4-mile open-water swim in the Pacific Ocean, a 112-mile hand cycle ride in lava fields -- now, that sounds exotic, but it's not as scenic as it sounds, and it's pretty desolate -- and then you top it off with a marathon, or a 26.2-mile run in 90-degree heat using a racing wheelchair. That's right, it's a total distance of 140.6 miles using just your arms in less than 17 hours. No female wheelchair athlete had ever completed the race because of the strict, seemingly impossible cutoff times. And so there I was, putting it all out on the line. And when I finally reached the top of that 15-mile climb, I was discouraged. There was no way I was going to make that swim in my time limit of 10 and a half hours, because I was almost two hours off pace. I had to make the agonizing decision to quit. I removed my timing chip, and I handed it over to a race official. My day was done.
Umur 28, aku dikenalkan dengan olahraga sepeda tangan, lalu triatlon, dan kebetulan, aku bertemu Jason Fowler, Juara Dunia Ironman, di kamp untuk atlet difabel, Sepertiku, dia berlomba dengan kursi roda. Dan dengan dorongannya, pada umur 34, kuputuskan untuk mengikuti Kona. Kona, atau Ironman Hawaii adalah lomba triatlon jarak ultra-jauh tertua, dan jika Anda tidak familier, ini mirip Super Bowl-nya triatlon. Dan Ironman, bagi atlet kursi roda sepertiku, terdiri atas berenang sejauh 3,8 kilometer di perairan terbuka Samudra Pasifik, mengayuh sepeda tangan sejauh 180 kilometer di medan lava -- mungkin terdengar eksotis, tapi tempatnya tidak seindah itu dan cukup gersang -- dan diakhiri dengan maraton, atau berlari sejauh 42 kilometer dalam suhu 32 derajat Celsius menggunakan kursi roda balap. Benar, total jaraknya 226,3 kilometer, dengan hanya menggunakan lengan dalam waktu kurang dari 17 jam. Belum pernah ada atlet wanita kursi roda yang menyelesaikan lomba itu karena waktu pancung yang ketat dan sepertinya mustahil. Dan di sanalah aku berada, berjuang habis-habisan. Dan ketika akhirnya tiba di puncak tanjakan 24 kilometer itu, aku patah semangat. Tidak mungkin aku menyelesaikan etape renang dalam waktu sepuluh setengah jam, karena aku ketinggalan hampir dua jam. Aku terpaksa membuat keputusan menyakitkan untuk berhenti. Aku mencopot cip pencatat waktu, dan menyerahkannya kepada panitia lomba. Hariku berakhir.
My best friend Shannon and my husband Shawn were waiting at the top of Hawi to drive me back to town. And on my way back to town, I began to cry. I had failed. My dream of completing the Ironman World Championship was crushed. I was embarrassed. I felt like I'd messed up. I worried about what my friends, my family and people at work would think of me. What was I going to put on Facebook?
Sahabatku Shannon dan suamiku Shawn menunggu di puncak Hawi untuk mengantarku kembali ke kota. Dan selama perjalanan pulang, aku mulai menangis. Aku telah gagal. Impianku menyelesaikan Kejuaraan Dunia Ironman pupus sudah. Aku malu. Aku merasa hancur. Aku mencemaskan pendapat teman-teman, keluarga, dan rekan kerjaku tentang aku. Apa yang akan kupasang di Facebook?
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
How was I going to explain to everyone that things didn't go the way I had assumed or planned?
Bagaimana aku menjelaskan pada semua orang bahwa situasinya tidak berjalan sesuai rencana?
A few weeks later I was talking to Shannon about the Kona "disaster," and she said this to me: "Minda, big dreams and goals can only be realized when you're ready to fail." I knew I had to put that failure behind me in order to move forward, and it wouldn't be the first time that I had faced insurmountable odds.
Beberapa minggu kemudian, aku mengobrol dengan Shannon tentang "musibah" Kona, dan dia berkata: "Minda, mimpi besar dan cita-cita hanya dapat terwujud jika kau siap gagal." Aku tahu aku harus melupakan kegagalanku untuk terus maju, dan ini bukan pertama kalinya aku menghadapi rintangan sulit.
I was born in Bombay, India, and just before my first birthday, I contracted polio, which left me paralyzed from the hips down. Unable to care for me, my birth mother left me at an orphanage. Fortunately, I was adopted by an American family, and I moved to Spokane, Washington just shortly after my third birthday. Over the next few years, I underwent a series of surgeries on my hips, my legs and my back that allowed me to walk with leg braces and crutches.
Aku lahir di Bombay, India, dan persis sebelum ulang tahun pertama, aku terkena polio, yang membuatku lumpuh dari pinggul ke bawah. Tak sanggup merawat, ibu kandungku meninggalkanku di panti asuhan. Untungnya aku diadopsi sebuah keluarga Amerika, dan aku pindah ke Spokane, Washington tak lama setelah ulang tahun ketiga. Beberapa tahun berikutnya, aku menjalani serangkaian operasi di pinggul, kaki, dan punggung agar aku bisa berjalan dengan penyangga kaki dan kruk.
As a child, I struggled with my disability. I felt like I didn't fit in. People stared at me all the time, and I was embarrassed about wearing a back brace and leg braces, and I always hid my chicken legs under my pants. As a young girl, I thought thick, heavy braces on my legs did not look pretty or feminine. Among my generation, I am one of the very few individuals in the US who are living with paralysis by polio today. Many people who contract polio in developing countries do not have access to the same medical care, education, or opportunities like I have had in America. Many do not even live to reach adulthood. I have the humbling knowledge that, had I not been adopted, I most certainly wouldn't be in front of you today. I may not even be alive.
Sewaktu kecil, aku sulit menerima cacatku. Aku merasa tidak bisa membaur. Orang-orang selalu memandangiku, dan aku malu harus mengenakan penyangga punggung dan kaki, dan aku selalu menyembunyikan kakiku di balik celana panjang. Sebagai gadis remaja, aku merasa penyangga kaki yang tebal dan berat tidak terlihat cantik atau feminin. Di generasiku, aku satu dari sangat sedikit orang di AS yang menderita lumpuh akibat polio. Banyak penderita polio di negara berkembang yang tidak mendapat akses ke pelayanan kesehatan, pendidikan, atau peluang seperti yang kudapatkan di Amerika. Bahkan banyak yang tidak mencapai usia remaja. Aku sadar betul seandainya tidak diadopsi, aku tidak akan ada di depan Anda hari ini. Bahkan belum tentu aku masih hidup.
All of us, in our own lives, may face seemingly insurmountable goals. I want to share with you what I learned when I tried again.
Kita semua, dalam kehidupan kita, mungkin punya cita-cita yang sepertinya sulit diraih. Aku ingin membagikan apa yang kupelajari setelah mencoba lagi.
One year after my first attempt, on a sunny Saturday morning, my husband Shawn dumped me into the ocean at the Kona Pier and, with 2,500 of my closest friends and competitors, we started swimming as that cannon went off promptly at 7am. I focused on one stroke at a time, staying in between bodies, counting my strokes -- one, two, three, four -- and lifting my head to sight every so often just so I wouldn't get too off track. And when I finally reached the shoreline, Shawn picked me up, and he carried me out of the water. I was so stunned and thrilled when Shawn had told me I had managed a one-hour-and-43-minute swim time.
Setahun setelah percobaan pertamaku, pada Sabtu pagi yang cerah, suamiku Shawn menurunkan aku di lautan di Dermaga Kona dan, bersama 2.500 teman dekat dan sainganku, kami mulai berenang begitu terdengar aba-aba tepat pukul 7 pagi. Aku mengayuh satu demi satu, tetap berkonsentrasi, menghitung kayuhanku -- satu, dua, tiga, empat -- dan sesekali mengangkat kepala buat melihat agar aku tidak melenceng dari jalur. Ketika akhirnya aku tiba di garis pantai, Shawn mengangkatku dari air. Aku begitu kaget dan gembira saat Shawn bilang aku berhasil menempuh waktu renang 1 jam 43 menit.
On to the bike segment. I had eight hours and 45 minutes to complete the 112-mile bike course. I broke up the course in seven- to 10-mile segments in my mind just to reduce the enormity of the race. The first 40 miles, they clipped by as we benefited from a little tail wind. By 4pm, I had made it to mile 94, and I did the math and I realized I was in serious time jeopardy because I had 18 miles to go and less than 90 minutes, and that included a few sizable hill climbs. I was stressed out, and I was scared that I wasn't going to make that time cutoff again. At this point, I pushed my internal voice aside that said, "This hurts. Quit." And I told myself, "Minda, you better focus. Focus on what you can control, and that is your attitude and your effort." I resolved to be OK being uncomfortable, and I told myself, "Push harder, forget about the pain, and keep that laser focus."
Pada etape sepeda, aku menyelesaikan jarak 180 kilometer dalam waktu 8 jam 45 menit. Di benakku, aku sengaja memecah rutenya menjadi 10 hingga 15 etape hanya untuk mengurangi kedahsyatan lomba ini. Jarak 60 kilometer pertama cukup mudah karena kami terbantu dorongan angin. Pukul 4 sore, aku tiba di kilometer 150, dan setelah berhitung, aku baru sadar waktuku dalam masalah besar sebab masih 29 kilometer yang harus kutempuh kurang dari 90 menit dan itu termasuk beberapa tanjakan yang cukup panjang. Aku sangat stres dan cemas bahwa aku akan gagal lagi mencapai waktu pancung. Pada titik ini, aku berusaha menyingkirkan suara hati yang berkata, "Ini menyakitkan. Berhentilah." Dan aku berusaha berpikir, "Minda, kau harus fokus. Fokus pada yang bisa kaukendalikan, yaitu sikap dan upayamu." Aku bertekad tak masalah merasa tidak nyaman, dan dalam hati aku berkata, "Dorong lebih keras, lupakan sakitnya, dan jaga fokus sungguh-sungguh."
For the next 90 minutes, I cranked as though my life depended on it. And when I rolled into town, I heard on the loudspeaker, "Minda Dentler is one of the last competitors to make the bike cutoff." I did it!
Selama 90 menit berikutnya, aku berjuang seolah nyawaku di ujung tanduk. Dan saat tiba di kota, dari pengeras suara aku mendengar, "Minda Dentler salah satu peserta terakhir yang tiba sebelum waktu pancung sepeda." Aku berhasil!
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
By only three minutes.
Kurang tiga menit lagi.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
It was 5:27pm, and I had been racing for 10-and-a-half hours. The first 10 miles of the run went pretty quickly, as I was so excited to finally pass people with my three wheels to their two feet. The sun quickly went down, and I found myself pulling up to the bottom of Palani hill, looking straight into a half-mile hill that looked like Mt. Everest at mile 124 of the race. My friends and family were ready at their stations to talk me up that hill. I was struggling, tired, desperately gripping those rims just so I wouldn't tip backwards. When I finally reached the top of that hill, I turned left onto a very lonely 15-mile stretch onto the Queen K Highway, totally exhausted. I pressed on, focusing on one push at a time. By 9:30pm, I made that final right-hand turn onto Ali'i Drive. I heard the crowd's roar, and I was overcome with emotion.
Saat itu pukul 17.27, dan aku telah berpacu selama 10 setengah jam. Lima belas kilometer pertama etape lari terasa cepat, dan aku gembira akhirnya bisa melampaui orang-orang dengan kursi roda tigaku. Matahari terbenam dengan cepat, dan sampai juga aku di dasar bukit Palani, yang menghadap ke tanjakan sepanjang 1 kilometer mirip Gunung Everest di kilometer 200 lomba ini. Teman-teman dan keluargaku bersiap di posisi mereka untuk menyemangatiku menaiki bukit itu. Aku berjuang keras, kelelahan, dengan susah payah mencengkeram pelek roda agar aku tidak terjengkang. Ketika akhirnya mencapai puncak bukit, aku belok kiri dan tiba di Queen K Highway yang sunyi sepanjang 24 kilometer, luar biasa lelah. Aku melaju, berkonsentrasi mengayuh satu demi satu. Pada pukul 21.30, aku tiba di tikungan terakhir menuju Ali'i Drive. Aku mendengar sorak-sorai penonton, dan emosi membanjiriku.
I crossed that finish line.
Aku melewati garis finis.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
(Applause ends)
(Tepuk tangan berakhir)
And my final time was 14 hours and 39 minutes. For the first time in the 35-year history, a female wheelchair athlete completed the Ironman World Championship.
Dan total waktu tempuhku adalah 14 jam 39 menit. Untuk pertama kalinya setelah 35 tahun terselenggara, seorang atlet wanita berkursi roda menyelesaikan Kejuaraan Dunia Ironman.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
(Applause ends)
(Tepuk tangan berakhir)
And it wasn't just any female athlete. It was me.
Dan bukan sembarang atlet wanita. Tapi aku.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
A paralyzed orphan from India. Against all odds, I achieved my dream, and through this very personal commitment to myself, I slowly realized that completing the Ironman was about more than conquering Kona. It was about conquering polio and other disabling but preventable diseases, not only for myself, but for the millions of children who have been and still will be afflicted by vaccine-preventable diseases. Today, we are closer than ever to eliminating one of those diseases everywhere in the world.
Anak yatim lumpuh asal India. Meski mustahil, aku meraih mimpiku, dan melalui komitmen yang sangat pribadi ini, perlahan aku sadar, menyelesaikan Ironman bukan sekadar soal menaklukkan Kona. Ini soal menaklukkan polio dan penyakit melumpuhkan lain yang dapat dicegah, bukan hanya untukku, melainkan untuk jutaan anak yang telah dan masih terserang berbagai penyakit yang bisa dicegah vaksin. Saat ini tidak mustahil lagi untuk membasmi salah satu penyakit itu di mana pun di dunia.
In the mid-1980s, polio once paralyzed more than 350,000 children a year in more than 125 countries. That amounted to a staggering 40 cases an hour. By contrast, so far this year, the last endemic countries have reported a total of only 12 cases. Since 1988, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio, and an estimated 16 million children, who otherwise would have been paralyzed like me, are walking. Despite this incredible progress, we know that until it's eradicated, polio remains a very real threat, especially to children in the poorest communities of the world. It can reemerge in some of the most remote and dangerous places, and from there, it can spread.
Tahun 1980-an, polio melumpuhkan lebih dari 350.000 anak per tahun di lebih dari 125 negara. Itu artinya 40 kasus setiap jam. Sebaliknya, tahun ini, negara-negara endemis terakhir melaporkan total hanya 12 kasus. Sejak 1988, lebih dari 2,5 juta anak mendapat imunisasi polio, dan diperkirakan 16 juta anak, yang jika tidak diimunisasi mungkin lumpuh seperti aku, bisa berjalan. Meskipun kemajuannya luar biasa, kita tahu selama belum dibasmi, polio tetap menjadi ancaman serius, terutama bagi anak-anak di wilayah termiskin di dunia. Polio bisa muncul kembali di sebagian tempat paling terpencil dan berbahaya, dan dari sana, menyebar.
And so this is my new Ironman: to end polio. And I am reminded every day, when I look at my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Maya. She is able to climb a ladder in the park, push her scooter or kick a ball across the grass. Almost everything that I see her do at her age reminds me of what I could not do at that age. And when she was two months old, I took her to get her first polio vaccine. And when the doctor came in the room to prepare the shot, I asked him if I could take a picture to document the moment. When we left the room, I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. I cried the entire way home. It was in that moment that I realized that my daughter's life would be very different from mine. She will never be faced with the crippling disability of polio, because a vaccine was available, and I chose to get her immunized. She can do anything she wants, as can each of you.
Jadi, inilah Ironman baruku: memberantas polio. Dan setiap hari aku diingatkan, saat memandang putriku Maya yang kini berusia dua setengah tahun. Dia bisa menaiki panjatan di taman, mendorong skuternya atau menendang bola di lapangan. Hampir semua hal yang kulihat bisa dia lakukan seusianya mengingatkan aku pada apa yang tidak bisa kulakukan seusia itu. Dan ketika umurnya dua bulan, dia mendapat vaksin polionya yang pertama. Dan ketika dokter datang ke ruangan untuk bersiap menyuntik, aku bertanya apakah boleh memotret momen ini sebagai dokumentasi. Saat kami ke luar ruangan, kurasakan air mataku menggenang. Aku menangis sepanjang jalan pulang. Saat itulah aku tersadar bahwa kehidupan putriku akan sangat berbeda dariku. Dia tidak akan lumpuh akibat polio, karena vaksinnya tersedia, dan aku memilih dia diimunisasi. Dia bisa berbuat apa pun yang dia inginkan, seperti halnya Anda semua.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Now I'd like to leave you all with one question: what is your Ironman?
Sekarang saya ingin meninggalkan satu pertanyaan: apakah Ironman Anda?
Thank you.
Terima kasih.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)