DOUBLE THE GRIEF FOR FAMILY
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PLEASANTLY DISCONNECTED
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REBELS REACH PROVINCIAL HOOP
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WEDNESDAY
MARCH 4 2015 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Lorne Davies, SFU’s first athletic director, passed away late last week. PAGE A3
Shooting witnesses sought by IIOBC
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Allen Fossheim still has the yellow bike on which he completed his first Ironman competition. It was the prized possession of his older brother who suffered from mental illness and committed suicide. Fossheim hopes the bike, and his brother’s memory, will inspire him to complete one of the toughest triathlon races in the world, the Celtman in Scotland.
Burnaby triathlete goes to extremes Crowdfunding for Scottish race, charity Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
When Allen Fossheim is late into a triathlon race, searching for that second wind to keep going, his thoughts often go to his late brother, Zoel. Fossheim, 31, lives in South Burnaby but is originally from Edson, Alta. Zoel, three years older, was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 17. “Something with my brother, he
had a tendency of just not telling anybody and just going for a walk,” said Fossheim, a carpenter. Zoel would be gone for a day and a half, returning with stories of what he saw in the woods and the great distances he covered. “So you get to the point, you’re that far into the race, it all adds up. If he can do it, why can’t I?” Since 2010, Fossheim has completed two Olympic-sized triathlons, one half-Ironman triathlon and two full-Ironmans. He’s now training for his toughest race yet, the Celtman! Extreme
Ironman in Wester Ross, Scotland on June 27. While the distances are similar to regular Ironmans, the conditions and terrain are anything but. He’ll start with a 3.8-km swim in the cold Atlantic Ocean waters of Loch Shieldaig, followed by a 202-km bike ride through the rolling hills of the Highlands, ending with a full marathon run, 42-km, of which about 75 per cent of the route is rocky, mountainous terrain where sometimes the pathway isn’t even evident. To top it off, Fossheim will have
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to do the run with only a map and while wearing a backpack full of survival gear in case he gets fogged in. Fossheim and his wife, Shannon Macelli, were planning a trip to Norway for a family reunion anyway, and wanted to tack on a race along the way. With participants drawn via a lottery, he wasn’t able to win a spot in the Norseman or Swissman races, but snagged a spot for the Celtman coming off the reserve list when someone else dropped out. Please see TRIATHLETE, A5
Just Play!
The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIOBC) is seeking witnesses to a Burnaby RCMP shooting of a robbery suspect early Sunday morning. At about 2:45 a.m. on March 1, Burnaby Mounties observed what appeared to be a robbery in progress at the 7-Eleven store on Canada Way at Edmonds Street, said IIOBC in a press release. RCMP say two male suspects got into a vehicle and rammed the police vehicle. Police fired shots before the suspects fled, eventually crashing about two blocks away near Canada Way and Rosewood Avenue. A police dog team tracked one suspect and found him near the vehicle, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital with serious but non-lifethreatening injuries. A second was also located and taken into custody. IIOBC investigators have reason to believe there were people in the area of Canada Way and Rosewood just before the crash. Anyone who has any information about the incident, is asked to call IIOBC at 1-855-446-8477. twitter.com/WandaChow