RANDY CADDELL / 1967-2005

Athlete was full
of energy

Condolences pour in for the
popular Big Isle competitor

KAILUA-KONA » Wheelchair athlete and worldwide triathlon competitor Randy Caddell was known as the Animal. In Jamaica he was called Hercules.

Randy Caddell: He died Friday when a car hit his bike-wheelchair in Kailua-Kona

His girlfriend, Carole Jean Bradburn, called him a "merman" -- his wet suit wrapped around his legs made him appear part fish.

People around the world continued reacting yesterday to Caddell's death Friday when a motorist hit him near the center of Kailua-Kona while he pedaled his hand-powered wheelchair-bicycle. He was 37.

Condolences on Caddell's Web site came from Germany, Switzerland and Australia, with memories of athletic events in Malaysia, Spain and New York.

His mother, Deanne, in California, remembered his childhood.

"There were hair-raising events daily. A flash of a big cheeseburger smile, and off he went in another direction," she wrote. "He was as cute as a button and faster than a speeding bullet."

At the age of 19 while in Hollister, Calif., under the influence of alcohol, he got into a motorcycle accident that robbed him of the use of his legs.

It devastated him. He lay in bed for about a year, Bradburn said. Then he snapped out of it. He played wheelchair basketball for 10 years, became a motivational speaker against drinking and driving, then took to triathlon competitions, participating in more than 30 worldwide, winning the handcycle division in Kona in 2002 and 2003.

He was also a gardener, a "fantastic barbecue chef" and a glass blower, Bradburn said.

Caddell met Bradburn six years ago. Both of them blond, both of Scandinavian origin, "We looked like twin souls," she said.

They swam for miles together, she with flippers, he with plastic hand paddles.

Everywhere he went, people helped him. When he lacked money to enter the Maui Marathon, the Veterans' Help Network gave him donations, unconcerned that Caddell was not a veteran.

Caddell normally cycled north from Kailua-Kona on the wide Queen Kaahumanu Highway. On Friday he cycled south, an area of more cluttered traffic. He had almost finished his ride when he was struck by a woman making a left-hand turn. She is also a triathlete and knew Caddell.

She probably could not see him, Bradburn said. He did not have a flag on his wheelchair for visibility. He was not wearing his helmet. "He had a need for speed," she said.

"There's a sense of freedom when you get out there and bike," said Diana Bertsch, director of the Kona Ironman. "I think in this situation, it simply was an accident."