By Dave Waddell, Windsor Star, December 1, 2009
After carrying the memory of Larry Azzopardi during 12 hours of Sunday's Ironman Cozumel triathlon, Doug Crowe finished the journey by escorting his father-in-law to his final resting place as a pallbearer at his funeral in Essex Tuesday.
It was as it should be.
Azzopardi, who founded Laval Tool and Mould Industry over 30 years ago, died Nov. 22 in Atlanta from complications of a blood clot while enroute to Cozumel to watch Crowe compete in his first Ironman competition.
Azzopardi was 75.
"Larry was always so supportive of me," said Crowe, who trained seriously for a year for the race.
"He was such a driven, competitive guy. That's why he loved to go with me.
"He could see some of himself through me."
Crowe, who has competed in numerous triathlons and run in four marathons with Azzopardi in tow, finished the Ironman in 12:10:28. His time in completing a 2.8-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon was good enough to place him 42nd in the men's 45-to-49 years division. Overall, the Essex resident finished 393rd out of the 2,500 competitors.
Crowe was one of five area athletes to compete in the race.
Also participating were Amherstburg's Keith Henry (13:57:51), Tecumseh's Maria Eid (14:22:13), Essex's Dennis Masse (14:22:18) and Windsor's Bill Davies (15:42:02).
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