We introduced you to Ben Bernier in March after he qualified for the World Triathlon Championships this summer.
Bernier needed a little help getting to Australia in August to compete, so Denver7 Gives launched a fundraiser, and generous Denver7 viewers showed up in a big way.
With your donations, Denver7 Gives was able to raise over $3,000 to cover Bernier's flight and cost of transporting his bicycle overseas.
Bernier got emotional when we told him how the community rallied around him to make his dream come true.
“Thank you to Channel 7. Thank you to the viewers. Thank you to the Denver community to friends and family. There's so many people I can't list them all individually (or) we (would) run out of time, but just know that I know who they are and thank you. Those that I haven't met, thank you twice," Bernier said.
This is Bernier's second shot at competing on the world stage in Australia after ulcerative colitis took him out of the running for the Olympic trials to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
But this time around, he's got his coach and long-time friend Tristen Rogers helping him train and plan for every contingency.
”Tristen is my outlet. If it's going well, (she) just tells me don't worry, it won't last. If it's going poorly, she's there to tell me don't worry, it won't last,” Bernier said.
Ben's HAT House team even volunteered to do a practice race with him in Utah in July ahead of the World Triathlon Championships.
”For so many years doing it individually. And then the outpouring of support from the community and people reaching out to me whether it's social media or just on our team or whatever, it’s overwhelming,” Bernier said.
He's been putting the work day in and day out, logging miles running and bicycling, as well as doing laps in the pool, to do the best he possibly can on race day.
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Colorado athlete qualifies to represent US at World Triathlon Championships
"It's a very expensive sport. This is amazing. He deserves it. He's been nothing but a pillar of positivity for the triathlon community for years and years and years and years. And I think the amount of money that has been raised is just absolutely a testament to who he is and his character," Rogers said.
With donations to Denver7 Gives and Bernier's personal GoFundMe, he is just $1,500 away from his goal of $10,000.
If you want to help, click here. Select "World Triathlon Championships" from the drop-down menu.
Anything more than the $10,000 Bernier needs to get to Australia, he pledged to donate to Team Challenge with the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation and the American Stroke Association.
