 | | Alex Mroszczyk-McDonald ´03 | Kona, Hawaii now has special meaning for amateur athlete Alex Mroszczyk-McDonald ’03. On Oct. 13, he became the amateur champion of the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship held there, placing 29th overall against nearly 1800 competitors. But it gets better: three days later, he married Ashley Zucker '03 on a North Kona beach. “It has been a very busy and whirlwind week!” he wrote on his blog. As a member of the Timex Multisport Team, Mroszczyk-McDonald completed the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run in 9:00:09. “Even though this was not my first experience here in Kona, I was still blown away and a little bit intimidated by all the über athletes that can be seen at all hours of the day all over Kailua-Kona,” he wrote. While at the College, he was an active athlete, competing as the starting goalie on the varsity water polo team and running recreationally. After graduating, Mroszczyk-McDonald, who is now a medical student at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, began competing in ironman competitions in 2006 after participating in triathalons for three years. Mroszczyk-McDonald has had a successful year of competitions, also becoming this year’s ironman USA Champion in Lake Placid, N.Y. and winning the half ironman at the Duke Liver Center Half Triathalon in North Carolina. His race in Kona marks the end of an exciting 2007 season. “All in all it was the race of a lifetime and my last race as an amateur for awhile,” he wrote. After graduating from medical school this spring, Mroszczyk-McDonald, who has continued to compete in triathalons as well, plans on racing as a professional triathlete. | 
