From immobile to ironman

Jákup Petur Eliassen was bedridden and incapacitated for a long period, but started training and has fought his way to multiple athletic feats.

“Was this it?” Jákup Petur Eliassen kept asking himself while he was bedridden after two slipped disc surgeries in 2016. All the morphine he was prescribed only took the edge of the crippling pain. It hurt just to exist. He dreamed of walking into the living room and looking out the window, but even that was too much.

“When you’re in such a miserable state you start to ask some fundamental questions,” Jákup Petur says, “I probably regretted the most all

Name: Jákup Petur Eliassen

DoB: 24.06.1978

Occupation: Leader of Tórshavn Municipality’s physiotherapy team the things I never tried. Why hadn’t I used all the freedom and opportunities I had before the surgery?”

The pain was so debilitating that Jákup Petur was offered early retirement aged only 37.

Back On His Feet

In spite of everything, Jákup Petur decided to attempt a return to work after six months in bed. The pain was excruciating, but not much worse than when he was in bed. So he reasoned that he might as well be doing something, it hurt regardless.

Shortly after Jákup Petur braved training, in pain and fear. But it helped, his back grew stronger and that reduced the pain. “My clear goal was to get back on my feet and do all the things I had missed. I want to do as much as I can while I can. The thrill of moving again is incredible. Movement has gone from a source of pain to a source of joy and life!” Jákup Petur recounts and adds, “I think we value things by what they cost us.”

Three Exploits

In summer 2022 the athlete Jákup Petur Eliassen is at his peak. He has just biked with his cousin, Ken Bærentsen, to every village in the Faroe Islands in 48 hours, 600km.

This is his third athletic feat. In 2020 he biked from Oyggjarvegurin up Kleynsvarði 42 times to total the height of Everest: 8,848 m in ascent.

Last year he hiked with Ken 18 times from Eiðisskarð up the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, Slættaratindur, and back down again.

“I like it wild and excessive. I feel most alive when trampling up a hill or hurtling down it.”

An important aspect of the three exploits has been to raise money for Eydnudeildin, a handball division for children, who face special challenges. His middle son, Gutti, is part of the division. Jákup Petur has so far raised DKK 165,000.

“I’m infinitely grateful for all the help and support I have received,” he says.

Happy Under Pressure

Jákup Petur competes in cycling and triathlon. The Faroese nature is his training ground. “I think modern life with screens, heating and security shields us from all hazards and pain. (…) I like to push myself physically and mentally. I tell myself it’s better for me than sitting in front of a screen.”

And he has won several Faroese championships in triathlon. He has often been asked what he is running from, given that he can’t stand still, “Perhaps I’m fleeing the sofa, screen, my sometimes dark thoughts, death, the bad weather and all my other fears. In short, when I move (…) I feel most alive.”

Jákup Petur emphasises the support of his wife, Súsanna, and kids. It’s hard to find time to train with family, work and a management diploma on the go, so he often trains early before the others get up.

Time is something the athlete often ponders. In 2018 he lost his father and his sister, Arnvør, to cancer at only 41. An unfathomable loss. “I no longer want to waste time on ‘banalities’. We humans are often stingy with our money, but our most valuable possession, our time, that we just squander,” Jákup Petur muses.

World Championships And Island Games

The ironman has no plans to slow down. This autumn he will be competing in the triathlon World Championships in the US. Next summer he hopes to represent the Faroe Islands in Guernsey at the Island Games.

Of course it gets harder to get the same results as you get older. But in triathlon you compete by age, so there he can compete against his peers. “I plan to keep moving for as long as I can,” Jákup Petur concludes.

A timeline

First slipped disc surgery

Second slipped disc surgery

Participates in sprint triathlon for fun

Participates in the cycle race

Kring Føroyar

EC in ½ Ironman – qualifies for WC in South Africa

½ Ironman WC in South Africa

EC in ½ Ironman – qualifies for WC in France

Represents the Faroe Islands at the Island Games in cycling and triathlon

WC in ½ Ironman in France

Everesting – bikes 42 times up Kleynsvarði

Hikes 18 times from Eiðisskarð up Slættaratindur and down again

EC ½ Ironman – qualifies for WC in the US

Won the bike race Kring Føroyar

Cycles to every village in the Faroe Islands in 48 hours

SKRIVAÐ HEVUR JÁKUP BOGI JOENSEN

MYNDIR: FINNUR JUSTINUSSEN / LEIT.FO