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5 9 | Friday, July 29, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER Winning Canadian triathlon age-gfoup title caps big month for So Oakville chiropractor says victory ranks with breaking three-hour mark at Boston Marathon By Kevin Nagel Beaver sports ed itor Freddie So won't deny that he caught a break at last week end's Canadian Triathlon cham pionship in Ottawa. The 45-year-old Oakville chiropractor was preparing to com pete in the m en's 4 5 -4 9 division when organizers scrapped the swimming portion of the com petition. Swimming is So's weakness in triathlon, not surprising when considering health problems prevented him from learning to swim as a child. W anting to com pete in a triath lon after running dozens of marathons, So learned to swim only eight years ago. The Ottawa race was changed from the Olym pic-style dis tances to a run-bike-run event that suited So ju s t Fine. He com pleted the three portions in an overall time of one hour, 5 2 m inutes and 5 3 .6 seconds. So was surprised to learn he had won his division when it was announced as he crossed the finish line. "It worked out in my favour," he said. "I'm not keeping up with guys that have swum their whole lives." The win was the icing on the cake, the cake representing his accom plishm ent one week earlier in Gravenhurst. One o f So's 2 0 1 6 goals was to concentrate on shorter dis tances and qualify for the world duathlon (running, biking) cham pionships in Penticton in 2 0 1 7 . At the provincial du athlon cham pionships in Gravenhurst, So needed a top-two finish in his division. Dr. Freddie So of Oakville pedals his way through one of the cycling sessions of the Canadian Triathlon championships in Ottawa last weekend. | photo submitted He succeeded, finishing first among the 4 5 -4 9 m en, earn ing him an entry to the worlds "W inning an Ontario cham pionship was so cool," he said. "It's been an amazing m onth for sure." W hat brings him the m ost pride may be conquering his personal goal of breaking the three-hour barrier at the Bos ton M arathon, a prestigious event So has com peted in for the past 12 years. He had com e close numerous times but finally did it in 2 0 1 4 , a year after terrorists exploded two bom bs near the finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. Luckily for So, he had finished the race and he and his family were on the fourth floor of a hotel near the finish line. "W e had returned to the hotel so I could take a shower," he said. "W e had no place to stay for the next 24 hours." He returned in 2 0 1 4 , anxious to break three hours but more intent on honouring those who died the year before. "I was very em otional just going back to that spot and staying in the same hotel," he said. "It was the best race I ever had -- 2 :5 9 :3 5 ." So stopped at the finish line and said a little prayer for the victims of the bombings. "I had a little bracelet of the pictures of the people who had died and put that on the finish line. It was such an em o tional day; I'll never forget it." To com pete at such a high level is an amazing accom plish m ent considering his health problem s growing up. So was diagnosed with asthma and had to use puffers constantly. "I never played sports as much as other kids," he said. "I start ed seeing a chiropractor (as an adult). I eventually got rid of all my puffers and medications I had been on for my entire life." His radical improvement in health made him decide to be com e a chiropractor. So and his wife Shauna have two children, Owen, 13, and Tori, 11. He has run his Oakville practice, Chiropractic First Natural Health Group, for 19 years and shares his insights on a healthy lifestyle with his patients. "It's a gift from God, I believe," he said. "To perform and win som ething big was pretty inspiring. 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