Jon Blais

Jon Blais (August 30, 1971 – May 27, 2007), also known as Blazeman, was an American triathlete.

Born and raised in Seekonk, Massachusetts, he moved to San Diego, California, because of its reputation as a mecca for triathlon. He worked as a special education teacher. On May 2, 2005, at age 33, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neurone disease, a progressive disease in which the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement degenerate and die off. He was permitted to enter the 2005 Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, a lifelong dream. He is believed to be the first person with ALS to attempt the Hawaii Ironman. As Blais put it, "Finishing the race is huge for me. No one is beating ALS. No one has done anything but walk away and die." His resolve to finish the race was unwavering as he stated, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing." With a total time of 16:28:56, more than half an hour before the cutoff, he "log-rolled" across the finish line and is the first person with ALS to finish this race. He died on May 27, 2007. Some international triathletes continue to honor Blais and show their support for the fight against ALS by doing a "Blazeman-Roll" across the Ironman finish-line.