Three athletes from Hyderabad represent India in the prestigious international ‘Ironman 140.6’ Triathlon!
Hyderabad, August 26th, 2022: Three endurance athletes from Hyderabad, Sai Harsha, Dr. Pilli Srikanth, and Dr. Ashwin Aiyangar, blazed past the finish line in the recently concluded Ironman 140.6 triathlon held at Nursultan, Kazakhstan. The trio has made the city and the state proud by successfully completing the enormous feat that many can only dream of.
Ironman 140.6, a triathlon, is one of the world’s toughest endurance races, comprising of three separate athletic disciplines, an open water swim of 3.8 km (2.4 miles), a road cycle ride of 180.2 km (112 miles), and a full marathon run of 42.2 km (26.2 miles), to be completed one after the other with little or no rest between them, within a cut off time of 16 hours and 30 minutes. Once out after the gunshot, the athletes are on their own, be it their speed, their injury, or a flat tire. Getting ready to race in an Ironman 140.6 requires copious amounts of physical and mental strength.
The trio has been preparing for this day for a little over a year, averaging initially 3-4 hours a day on weekdays to 8 to 12 hours on Sundays. All this is in addition to their regular life roles as busy professionals and balancing family duties. Sai Harsha is a Human Resource Management Professional, Dr. Pilli Srikanth has an MD in Homeopathy and is a Director and Consultant at Homeogenesis Homeopathy chain of Clinics and Dr. Ashwin Aiyangar is a Consultant Nephrologist & Kidney Transplant Physician at Apollo Hospitals, Secunderabad.
“Apart from regular training in the three disciplines, we need to concentrate equally on leading a disciplined lifestyle and focus on proper nutrition and strength training as well”, says Sai Harsha. He further adds that endurance sport is always a game of Mind over Matter.
Age is just a number and if determined, one can explore one’s strength and inner potential at any age, commented Dr. Pilli Srikanth.
Dr. Ashwin is of the opinion that the human body is the best machine made to date. It is extremely malleable and can be moulded the way one desires. The only magic ingredients necessary are scientific systems of training, persistence, dedication, and discipline.
All three agree in unison that there were moments when they felt like giving up, but it was their mental strength that helped them zip past the finish line. “The most ecstatic moment was when I was in the last 50 meters to the finish line with the Indian Flag held in both hands, I heard the crowd cheering ‘Indiaaaa … Indiaaaaaa …’, this built up a strange nationalistic emotion which helped push me through the end spurt, a feeling so surreal!” exclaimed Dr. Ashwin. With this feat, the trio have now engraved their names onto the meagre list, which is still in single digits, of real-life Ironmen from Hyderabad.
Dr. Srikanth implores all to take time out from their busy mundane schedules and adopt it for fitness if one is healthy and can take care of family and render active service to society. Harsha says that the pandemic has been a great wake up call for mankind and we need to prioritise health and making physical activity part of daily lifestyle is the need of the hour.
About Ironman Triathlon
Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride, and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run completed in that order. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
Most Ironman events have a time limit of 16 or 17 hours to complete the race, course dependent, with the race typically starting at 7:00 am. The mandatory cut-off time to complete the 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim is 2 hours and 20 minutes. The mandatory bike cut-off time for when an athlete must have completed their swim, transition, and bike varies generally between 10 hours and 10 hours 30 minutes from when an athlete began their swim. The mandatory run cut-off varies between 16 and 17 hours from when athlete began their swim. Many races will also have intermediate bike, run, and transition cut-off times specific to each race venue. Any participant who completes the triathlon within these time constraints is designated an Ironman.
The name “Ironman Triathlon” is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon which is now the Ironman World Championship. Held in Kallua-Kona, the world championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. Originally taking place in Oahu, the race moved to Kailua-Kona in 1981 and it continues today. The Ironman World Championship has become known for its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and television coverage.
