Terrorist attack survivor turned Ironman – the insane story of Sebastien Bellin

Some stories of willpower just stand out. So does former basketball player Sebastian Bellin, who was seriously injured during a terrorist attack but never thought of giving up.

During the attack, Bellin almost lost his legs, but he never wanted to resign himself to his fate as a victim and decided to come back stronger than ever.

Bellin's fighting spirit stems from his successful professional basketball career, which began in Italy in 2000.

Bellin was born in Brazil, but it was in Belgium, his parents' native country, that he built his professional and private life. He played for several major Belgian basketball clubs and won a league and two cups. For five years, he was also a member of the Belgian national team.

Bellin retired in 2015 after a 15-year career. His life would soon change, but not in the way he had imagined.

On 22 March 2016, Bellin was at Brussels airport to catch a flight to New York when all hell broke loose and two suicide bombers attacked the departure hall with explosives.

Sixteen people were killed in the attack and many were injured, as was Bellin.

The Belgian's legs and hip were badly hit, and he was bleeding heavily. A picture of him lying on the ground went viral.

"I remember falling down and my hip exploding," Bellin is quoted by the BBC.

"I looked down and saw a mass of bones sticking out. You see dead people, you see body parts, you hear screaming," he continued.

Bellin survived with the help of a porter and six firemen and underwent an operation that almost cost him his leg. He was still alive, but entered a long recovery in which he had to learn to walk again.

Bellin, however, did not resign himself to his fate. "I am a person who loves movement and I found myself immobile with the news I am going to be disabled for the rest of my life."

He soon set himself a goal. "I just needed a pipe dream to stay focused and positive. I wanted the opposite extreme to the situation I was in. For an explosive athlete, that was to run one of the hardest endurance races in the world."

Word was out: Bellin, who lost all feeling in a part of his left leg after the attack, was going to focus on competing in an Ironman, and more specifically the one in Kona, Hawaii.

He started training and went looking for the first challenges. In 2019, he ran the Brussels Marathon.

Two years later, he completed the Zadarhalf triathlon in Croatia. Another step in his miraculous recovery.

But it was all with the ultimate goal in mind: to finish the Hawaii Ironman.

Bellin prepared meticulously with the help of former two-time winner Luc Van Lierde (pictured).

In October 2022, Bellin appeared at the start line of the Hawaii Ironman, ready to take on the biggest physical challenge of his life.

Bellin, who was supported by his wife, one of his daughters and his coach, gave everything and reached the finish line after 14 hours, 39 minutes and 38 seconds. It was a mental and physical victory after almost losing his life and legs a couple of years before.

"It was never about how fast I went; the goal was to show myself my body and mind are capable despite this handicap," Bellin told the BBC. "I don't want my mindset to accept the state of being a victim."

Bellin had finished the Hawaii Ironman, but faced an even bigger challenge when he was confronted with the terrorists of the Brussels Airport attack in court. "Today I've decided to forgive you," Bellin said to everyone's surprise.

The former basketball player feels he has grown through the experience. "I will be handicapped for the rest of my life but, at the same time, there are a lot of good things that have come out of this last seven years; I feel I am a better friend, a better husband, a better father, a better person," he said to the BBC.

Bellin has a special story to tell, which he did in the 2023 documentary 'Rebound', a one-hour-and-one-minute piece that will leave a deep impression on anyone who watches it.