Triathlon: Mum fights disease to make NZ team

270415aw06bop Louise Dumee is off to world champs triathlon USA. 27 April 2015 Bay of Plenty Times Photograph by Andrew Warner.

Louise Dumee has been through a life-changing journey to represent New Zealand at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago in September.

The 36-year-old personal trainer and mother of two from Papamoa was diagnosed with bowel disease last August.

She was unable to train for two months and told to forget about reaching her goals of competing in Ironman New Zealand last month and selection for Chicago.

"My biggest struggle was to get my disease under control, and I had to go gluten, wheat, dairy and sugar-free, and to get my body back to a state where I could train again," Dumee said.

"I was not going to give up the fight, although at times it was a struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Once better, the goal was to race again, but I had to face challenges along the way in terms of finding supplements and nutrition I could use during training. I worked alongside the team from Salveo Therapy and my coach Sam Warriner to get racing fit again."

Dumee completed the Auckland 70.3 triathlon in January in a time just a few minutes slower than a year earlier. That was when she knew she could conquer the gruelling Ironman in March.

"I basically had six weeks in which I spent weekend after weekend in Taupo, struggling to catch up to what others have been doing for most of the year. When I crossed the finish line at Ironman NZ on March 7th, it was not only the racing of the day that was celebrated but the journey I had to take to get there."

Remarkably, Dumee finished in a time one hour 10 minutes faster than she had the year before. Now the world champs in Chicago were the priority but she had just the ITU World Triathlon Auckland left to qualify.

"I wasn't able to do much training after Ironman but I completed the ITU Auckland race in two hours 46 minutes and placed seventh in my age group. Then the wait began to hear if I was selected. I literally jumped out of my seat when I received the email that I was one of five females selected in my age group to represent New Zealand."