Sebastien Sasseville successfully completed the 2009 Ford Ironman Arizona on November 22nd 2009 in Tempe, Arizona, in the United States. In doing so, he became the first and only type 1 Diabetic in history to have both completed an Ironman race and reached the summit of Mount Everest.

In completing an Ironman, Sebastien Sasseville once more accomplished a feat all the more challenging for a person dependent to insulin, but most importantly, showed that the most severe form of Diabetes is no obstacle to living life to the fullest. To Sebastien, «nothing is impossible, regardless of the obstacles life throws at you».

The Ironman is the longest form of triathlon. The race consists of swimming 3,8 km, cycling 180 km and running a full 42,2 km marathon, all in less than 17 hours.

Sebastien Sasseville became the first Canadian with type 1 Diabetes to summit Mount Everest on May 25th 2008.

More than three million Canadians have some form of Diabetes and 300,000 of them have type 1 (juvenile) Diabetes. Canada has the sixth highest incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children 14 years of age or younger in the world.

After finishing the race, Sebastien stated: “My biggest satisfaction is to know that my success at the Ironman might bring hope and inspiration to people living with diabetes, and especially to youth living with type 1 Diabetes. I hope it shows that even the biggest obstacles can be overcome”.