To say Scott Rigsby is an Ironman, is both the unbridled truth and an enormous understatement.

Yes, the former Valdosta State student officially earned the moniker Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, finishing a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon in 16 hours, 42 minutes and 46 seconds.

However, the metal Rigsby should have attached to his name should be something stronger, and more indestructible than iron, perhaps titanium, or more appropriately, some foreign substance that can withstand obscene amounts of torture.

That’s exactly what Rigsby did, as he became the first-ever below-the-knee double amputee to finish an Ironman event.

Rigsby overcame a mental breakdown and an allergic reaction leading up to the race. Then, once the race started, he suffered a kick to the eye during the swim portion, tremendous head winds during the cycling portion, and a nearly race-ending fall on the running portion, all on his way to achieving his goal. Oh yeah, Rigsby overcame those obstacles without legs.

“It’s kind of feeling like you’re working on a project like a carpenter, building something and getting to the end of building a house,” Rigsby said. “You’re finished, have sweat dripping off you, you have a hammer in hand and a bag of nails. You step back and look at the house, and it’s wonderful, because it’s finally built. I feel like I built a house God allowed me to build.”

The personal trials and tribulations leading up to the world-famous race were nothing compared to how he got to this position. Rigsby was injured in a car accident in 1986, causing him to lose his right leg, and in 1998, he had the left one amputated.

Since 2005, his purpose in life has been to show others with disabilities, especially those in the armed forces that suffered injuries in war, that life goes on after a person is disabled. He decided to become the first double-amputee to complete an Ironman.

He made his first attempt June 24 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, but came up short, due to a cycling crash that fractured vertebrae in his back.

The injury left Rigsby sidelined for a short while, allowing him to train for just 100 days leading up to the Ironman Championship, a race that generally requires about five months to prepare for.

Along with the injury, Rigsby’s bills were piling up, as well as the pressure from his parents to concentrate more on his financial situation. He needed all his time to train, and work wouldn’t allow him to be physically prepared for the challenge of a lifetime, so he relied on sponsors.

“I had no sponsorship dollars coming in,” Rigsby said. “You don’t get any sponsorship because you almost win the game.”

About six weeks before Rigsby made history, one of those crucial plot points where film directors insert depressing music right before a sunrise scene occurred.

“I remember a critical moment, where I was supposed to do five hours on a bike,” Rigsby said. “I got to the point where I had all my stuff together, and was about to walk out the door, but I couldn’t walk out the door. I almost had this panic attack, where I put my hand on the door, and couldn’t turn the handle.”

After sitting with a stare focused on the door, Rigsby drove around in his car, when his training partner Mike Linhart called to check up. The former Army Ranger, told Rigsby to focus on what is right in front of him, and forget about the tasks mounting ahead of him.