Ben O'Donnell

In Feb 2020, Ben O'Donnell was training for his second Ironman Triathlon when he went on a business trip for a week to Colorado and Texas. On that trip, he contracted COVID-19. He spend 9 days at home before the state of Minnesota was able to test for COVID-19 and was admitted directly to the ICU. He was the first critical case of COVID-19 in the state of Minnesota and the first person in North America to survive COVID-19 while requiring ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) support. He spent 28 days in the ICU, 15 on a ventilator and 12 on ECMO. During that time, he also suffered Liver and Kidney failure.

Upon discharge, O'Donnell was sent home with a walker and supplemental oxygen. He determined that he would still train for and compete in that Ironman triathlon. It was 14 months to the day of coming off of ECMO life support, he completed Ironman Tulsa in May 2021.

O'Donnell experienced setbacks and trials as he moved to a new country with his family and started a business. He dedicated his Ironman to the healthcare workers and community that mean to much to him. He spends time raising funds for the Ironman Foundations IRONAID program to help non-profit organizations affected by the pandemic. Additionally, O'Donnell is working to ensure that others would not have to experience what he went through. He has testified in front of Congress on vaccine hesitancy and continues to spread his message and story.

Part of his journey is also chronicled in the ESPN Documentary The Long Haul, which is streaming in ESPN+.