Jeff Agar, 62, came through open-heart surgery in June 2025, but that wouldn’t stop him. In September, he put his triathlon suit back on and returned to compete with his son.
Johnny was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. He was 11 when he took his first steps: 23 of them, counted one by one. He never thought of himself as an athlete, but one day his father put him in a running stroller and started running with him. Johnny felt the wind in his hair and heard the crowd cheering, and it became a journey of perseverance for father and son.
That’s how Team Agar was born. Then came the 5 km races, the marathons, and an Ironman 70.3 in 2015, but the most meaningful one was in 2026.
Jeff thought he wouldn’t be able to compete with his son again after his surgery. However, their spirit said otherwise.
His sister, Annie Agar, posted a video on social media showing all the effort he put in during the race. They started with 1.9 km of swimming, continued with 90 km on a bike, and then faced a 21.1 km run. Throughout this time, Jeff pushed his son the whole way—a remarkable feat at his age and after everything he had been through during his recovery.
But it wasn’t until the final stretch that the real challenge arrived.
Johnny stood up and walked the final meters with his walker, accompanied and helped by his father, as the crowd cheered them on until they crossed the finish line together.
The feat was inspiring to everyone, especially Johnny, since a few meters are like kilometers for him. But Johnny and his family have shown that with effort and determination, nothing is impossible.