Among those competing in Ironman Wales on Sunday is David Hopkins all the way from Maryland, the mid-Atlantic state of America.

This will be the 47-year-old’s third Ironman Wales!

However, seven weeks before the software developer’s first Ironman in 2007, David was run over by a pickup truck and taken to the hospital strapped to a board. He sustained lacerations all over his body and broken ribs/collarbone and wrist.

“I wasn’t able to swim again for six weeks, but I did start Ironman Florida and I finished,” he told the Observer.

“The pictures from that accident are pretty ugly, and it’s amazing that I’m still alive after being underneath a truck and coming out the back end.”

In 2011, David stopped racing, and got passionate about genealogy.

“That is when I found out about my Welsh connections, and I am about 60 per cent Welsh,” he continued.

“I wanted to visit and connect with my homeland, so I started checking out Wales. I thought that it would be nice to combine it with some sort of race, so I saw Ironman Wales and I signed up. I met new friends on that trip and I found all the home towns that my folks were from, and even found burial spots.

“After that wonderful trip, I returned in 2014. That year, Ironman announced its Ironman legacy programme, which gives the opportunity for those who have been in the sport a long time, to race the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. All I had to do was do 12 Ironman races. So I decided to make that my goal. My 12th Ironman will be this weekend in Tenby. It will be my 13th iron-distance race, but only the Ironman branded ones count.”

So, after this weekend, when David finishes, he will be qualified to race in the World Championship in Kona. That’s a long way from almost getting killed in 2007 before his first Ironman.

Added David: “I cherish every moment and I take every opportunity to live life to my fullest. I am really looking forward to reconnecting with my homeland and seeing the people of Wales again.”