Friends to the end:
Race’s emotional finish shows special bond between coach and student
Tommy Steiner, left, savors a moment to remember with his friend and coach, Jimmie Guilfoyle. The friends, who met at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville, proudly display their medals from the Louisville Ironman competition. Guilfoyle dedicated his participation in the Ironman to raise funds for an association that helps Tommy and other people who have Down syndrome. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
The best place to start the story of the friendship between Jimmie Guilfoyle and Tommy Steiner is with an ending—an emotional ending that won’t be forgotten by the people who lived it and witnessed it.
The ending took place on Aug. 31, a day when the 22-year-old Guilfoyle struggled to finish the Louisville Ironman, a triathlon competition that requires an individual to swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and complete a 26.2-mile marathon—all in less than 17 hours.
Guilfoyle had dreamed of finishing the race for more than a year, but a stress fracture in his right knee—the same knee that had required surgery for a torn meniscus in May—threatened to rob him of his dream.
So after swimming the 2.4 miles in the Ohio River and cycling the 112 miles, Guilfoyle began the grueling marathon, knowing he would have to walk nearly every step of the 26.2 miles because his fractured knee couldn’t bear the pounding of running. He also knew that Tommy was waiting for him near the finish line.
The two friends first met at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville in the New Albany Deanery. Guilfoyle is the assistant coach of the swim team there. Tommy is a junior at the school, and a member of the swim team. Tommy has Down syndrome.
From the beginning of their relationship, Guilfoyle has always marveled at Tommy.
“There is not one thing he does that doesn’t inspire me,” the coach says. “The most amazing thing is to watch him swim. At practice, we would get in and sometimes do a few laps, and other days we would do countless laps. At the meets, it was a sight nothing short of amazing. I would lift him in the water when it was his time to race, and he would have a standing ovation from both teams and fans. After finishing, I would lift him out and he would celebrate by giving out high-fives and yelling ‘PHS’ or ‘Go Big Blue.’
“After seeing him overcome obstacles in life, it was only natural for me to see the power within myself.”
That power and inspiration kept Guilfoyle pushing his already depleted body to take step after step in the marathon.
So did the pledge he made to Tommy. Guilfoyle had told Tommy that he would dedicate his participation in the Louisville Ironman as a fundraising effort for the Down Syndrome Support Association of Southern Indiana. The organization was formed by Tommy’s parents, Bob and Ann Steiner, after Tommy’s birth 17 years ago.
Part of Guilfoyle’s plan also involved having Tommy join him near the end of the race so they could cross the finish line together. But the plan didn’t unfold as Guilfoyle imagined as he struggled toward the finish line in the darkness. His knee aching, his body drained and in pain, Guilfoyle wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
“It was better than any plan could have been,” Guilfoyle says. “Coming from complete darkness to seeing a few of my cousins and my uncle at the corner, and the deafening sounds, bright lights and all the people, I just started crying. It was overwhelming. I started to walk further and there were more people, and that is when I saw all the people wearing the ‘Tri for Tommy’ T-shirts.”
Then he saw Tommy cheering for him, waiting to join him.
“They lifted Tommy over the railing, and that is when I grabbed his hand,” Guilfoyle recalls. “All of the people were screaming and cheering. I think Tommy and I both felt like we had the world handed to us. It was the most defining moment of my life. I started pumping my fists. And when we crossed the finish line, I just screamed with everything I had left. No words can explain what it truly felt like, but it was as close to life-altering as any experience could ever be.”
The two friends had finished the race, but the celebration had just begun.
Someone put a medal around Guilfoyle’s neck. Next came a surprise moment, courtesy of Heather Gollnick, the female winner of the 2007 Louisville Ironman and this year’s second-place finisher. She put her medal around Tommy’s neck.
“This was something that was not planned,” Guilfoyle says. “It was something she decided to do in the moment, and I will be forever grateful to her.”
Within seconds, Guilfoyle and Tommy were surrounded by more than 50 smiling, cheering and crying fans—their friends and their families.
“Most of them had been there through the entire day, and had experienced the whole thing with Tommy and me,” Guilfoyle says. “I can’t even begin to explain how much that meant to me. Having my parents, my brother, the rest of my family and all my friends there was the greatest experience of my life.”
Tommy had the same feeling.
“Tommy was real excited just to be part of it all,” says his mother, Ann Steiner. “We got there at 6:30 in the morning, and Tommy stood in line with Jimmie until just before he jumped into the river for the swimming part of it. We were there until Jimmie finished at about 10 after 11 at night. It was a marathon of a day for us, but Tommy knew how important a race it was for Jimmie.”
The Steiner family wanted to be there to cheer Jimmie because of everything he has done for Tommy. There was the way that Jimmie set an example for the members of the swim team regarding how to treat Tommy. There was the way he chose to dedicate the race to raise money for the Down Syndrome Support Association of Southern Indiana.
“About $4,000 was raised,” Ann says. “That’s a major fundraiser for the association. A lot of it will go toward some of the new programs we’re developing—for adult literacy and for social and employment opportunities for people after they finish school. It’s also for public awareness materials and support materials for new parents when they have a baby born with Down syndrome.”
Much of Guilfoyle’s fundraising pledges came through the support of members of his parish and Tommy’s. Guilfoyle is a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Clarksville, and Tommy is a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany.
“Both of the parishes got behind it,” says Bob Steiner, Tommy’s father. “It was the coming together of a lot of people who supported the two of them.”
All the help and all the effort led to that unforgettable moment when Guilfoyle and Tommy crossed the finish line together—an ending that Ann Steiner captured on her video camera as she cried tears of joy and love.
“I was on the other side of the finish line,” she recalls. “I could hear the crowd roaring as they were approaching the finish line. Tommy was just bubbling over with excitement. You could tell he was real proud to be there with Jimmie and walk the last yards together.
“It was pretty emotional. Jimmie has set just a great example of inclusion and respect for Tommy. He’s an extraordinary young man. To see them cross the finish line together was such a moving and glorious moment. I had tears, but mostly I was ecstatic.”
(Anyone who still wants to contribute to the “Tri for Tommy” fundraiser can send a check to DSSASI, 1939 State St., New Albany, IN 47150. Write “Tri for Tommy” on the memo line of the check.) †
