Who was Brian Kozera?
He was a veteran who participated in many competitions over the past 16 years. He was riding his bicycle when the dreadful accident occurred. he was also a police officer for Norristown for the past 16 years.
He was riding his bicycle in Caernarvon Township, PA when he lost control and hit a car. The Ironman contestant could not see a pickup truck coming from the side and he missed the stop signal and crashed into the side area of the truck.
The accident was severe in that he was thrown from his bike and was entangled in the rear wheel of the truck. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but he could not survive the injuries.
Brian Kozera was a veteran police officer, athlete, husband, father, and cancer survivor. Brian was training in Lancaster County for the Ironman World Championship organized by the World Triathlon Corporation, which holds long-distance triathlon races globally.
The Ironman was previously suffering from lymphoma cancer. a type of cancer that attacks the lymphatic system. In 2015 he completely recovered from it.
Brain Kozera and his trouble with cancer in 2015:
Brain Kozera in his blog post shared his journey.
“My cancer journey began in April 2014, while training for a local triathlon… A hernia landed me in my local hospital, where I learned my life was about to change forever. My surgeon detected a suspicious lymph node which was eventually diagnosed as rare cancer, called Lymphocyte Depleted Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. To say we were shocked would be an understatement.”
“The next step came in April 2016, when I traveled to New Orleans and finished a grueling half-Ironman in windy conditions. On June 26, 2016, just 418 days post-transplant, I traveled to Austria to compete in the 140.6-mile Ironman. I wasn’t just surviving, I was thriving.
Brian became an Ironman after he recovered from cancer:
After he recovered from cancer his mindset changed and he wanted to become a strongman athlete. Maybe to inspire other Cancer patients.
Brain Kozera loved his job as a policeman, he went back to the police force as a full-time resource after he recovered from cancer. Brian was very happy that he could join the department again.
