For this team, Duxbury triathlon was not about winning

Heart recipient George Senerchia waded into water yesterday to hear teammate Peter Kenyon, 70, didn't finish swim. (TOM HERDE FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

DUXBURY - The 70-year-old gasped and his transplanted heart beat hard as he swam through the frigid bay, intent on finishing his leg of the race. But officials pulled Peter Kenyon out of the water. It was not to be this time.

Kenyon's team didn't come in first, or second, or third, or even 600th in yesterday's Duxbury Triathlon. Technically, the team didn't finish at all. But they were winners in many people's minds anyway.

One of Kenyon's teammates was Tom Colligan, 71, the father of Andrew Colligan, whose heart now beats inside Kenyon's chest. The other, George Senerchia, had also received a heart transplant. They ran, biked, and swam to underline the importance of organ and tissue donation and show that recipients can lead full, active lives.

"There is real quality of life following a transplant," Kenyon said after the race.

Andrew Colligan died of a brain aneurysm in 2002 at the age of 30. Kenyon, of Darien, Conn., suffered from a hereditary coronary artery defect. He waited through four years and 15 false alarms for a new heart.

The Colligan family met Kenyon about 18 months after Andrew's death. They became instant friends and have remained in touch ever since. Kenyon recently got involved in the USA Transplant Olympics, and the Colligans have traveled to Connecticut to cheer him - and their son's heart - on.

Tom Colligan, who did the biking leg of the race, said, "I set a goal that I'll have my son's heart recipient be in a triathlon with me," he said, "Then we needed a runner, and Pete said, 'Sure, I got a guy.' "

Senerchia, 55, of Northford, Conn., received his heart from a Massachusetts woman in 2004. He has not met his donor's family and refers to her only as "my Boston girl." His teammates are hopeful that Senerchia will get to meet his donor's family, eventually.

The race started at 10:30 a.m., and Kenyon fell behind quickly in the half-mile swim. It was his first time in a wetsuit and his first time swimming competitively in the ocean. He did not have beginner's luck. Officials saw him struggling in the water and pulled him out. Colligan set out on the 13-mile cycling portion anyway, and the team's anchor, Senerchia, went for his 3.1-mile run.

Triathlon competitor Sarah Coughlin, 26, of Duxbury walked up to Kenyon as he toweled off, discouraged that he didn't finish. "The fact that you were even in it is amazing," she said. "Congratulations!"

Coughlin said the heart transplant team's story inspired her. She was competing as a cancer survivor.

The race results didn't matter either to Sheila Colligan, Andrew Colligan's mother and Tom's wife.

"This is the most extraordinary, miraculous event imaginable," she said, "'I'm so proud of all of them. Especially Andy."

After the triathlon, Kenyon and the others were showered with hugs and congratulations all around. Ever the competitor, Kenyon was already thinking about future competitions.

"Next time," he muttered. "Next time."

John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com