Meet Mari Fridenmaker, cornea transplant recipient and Ironman Triathlete! |
Triathlete, Mari Fridenmaker, chose to raise awareness of the work performed by Georgia Eye Bank after she became a cornea transplant recipient on April 17, 2002.
In December of 2000, Mari suffered an eye injury when her dog accidentally scratched her left eye. After the scratch, her eye became infected and left her with cloudiness in her cornea. A cornea transplant was the only option to restore her sight.
Shortly after her surgery, Mari decided that she would one day do a triathlon and nothing would stand in her way! She completed her first Olympic distance triathlon in the spring of 2003, which consisted of a 1-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run. Ever since then, she has been competing in various distance races.
She completed her first Ironman triathlon in 2006 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and her second in 2007 in Lake Placid, NY. An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run, all of which must be completed within 17 hours in order to cross the finish line with an official time.
When Mari is not training or fundraising for Georgia Eye Bank, she works full time as an Account Manager for Potter-Holden & Company, an independant insurance agency specializing in Physicians Professional Liability. Mari is also the President and Founder of Peachtree Tri Club, a recreational Triathlon club for adults in Metro Atlanta. She also was elected to the Board of Trustees of Georgia Eye Bank in 2006. Mari enjoys spending her free time with her husband, Steve, and their two dogs, Perry (the one guilty of scratching her eye) and Georgia.
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