Ironman 70.3 Goa: Bishworjit shows the way, again

Panaji: Bishworjit Singh Saikhom has done it again. Winner of the inaugural edition of Ironman 70.3 Goa five years ago, the Indian Army athlete has regained the title after an impressive run on Sunday that saw him cut off 10 minutes from his previous gold in 2019.

Bishworjit made the most of last year’s champion Nihal Baig's absence as he finished the run in 04:32:04hrs, a second better than the winning time a year ago

"It feels great to be champion again,” said Bishworjit, who crossed the line ahead of Spaniard Joaquin Berral (4:48:09) and Egyptian Ahmed Iraky (4:49:10). “For the last two years, the results did not go my way. I was hugely motivated. So, I trained hard to prove myself. My team worked hard and got me ready for this triumph.”

Ironman 70.3 is a competitive race that sees participants swim 1.9km, followed by a 90km bicycle ride before concluding with a 21.1km run. Those who manage to do it within 8 hours 30 minutes are considered finishers.

Bishworjit and Laikhuram Singh set the pace and were toe to toe in swimming and cycling. Bishworjit was second only to Olympian Sajan Prakash in swimming, and then went ahead of Laikhuram towards the fag end of cycling.

An injury to Laikhuram meant Bishworjit didn’t have much competition left.

For 35-year-old Spaniard Berral, finishing second was a pleasant surprise, after seeing that his bike was damaged when he landed in Goa.

"Ahmed helped me get my bike fixed. The airline broke my hanger. Ahmed had a spare part and we both have the same bike. I am thankful to him. It was a nervous time for me. My start was good. The first two guys raced off and I knew it wouldn't be possible to catch up. I had a feeling that I was third, but when I saw one of them pull up, I knew I would finish on the podium," said the Spanish athlete.

Berral will now prepare for the Valencia Marathon and then get in shape for the Ironman World Championship in Spain next year.

Ahmed, a veteran of many Ironman races, was pleased with his performance. "It was humid and testing,” he said.

It was a great day for Egyptian athletes as Yasmin Halawa, a 37-year-old teacher, won her maiden Ironman 70.3 title after stopping the clock at 5:22:50hrs.

“This is the best day of my life,” said Yasmin. “It has been 10 years of running and making sacrifices for Ironman. This is my first visit to Goa and it’s special to win my first title.”

For Egyptians, the triathlon culture started in 2014 after they formed a group, started training and decided to participate in Ironman races the world over.

"We like to see great cultures and experience them. We heard great stories about Goa and now we came here and enjoyed it too. The route was challenging, but I can't complain," said Yasmin.

Besides over 1,100 professional athletes from across the country, over 120 personnel from central and state govt services took part in the race, with women making up 12-15% of the athlete base.

Notably, over 60% of this year’s participants were first-time competitors.