Bishworjit Singh Saikhom of the Indian Army finished first in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon event in Goa on Sunday.
Saikhom, who participated in the men’s 30-34 age category, has qualified for the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championship event, which will be held in Spain. This time around, a total of 45 age category spots were up for grabs.
The 34-year-old clocked an impressive 4:32:04 to clinch gold ahead of Spain’s Joaquin Berral, who clocked 4:48:09. This is a whopping 10 minutes faster than his gold medal-winning run in the inaugural edition of the event back in 2019.
Ahmed Iraky of Egypt came third with a timing of 4:49:10.
“I was disappointed with my performance in the last two editions and took that as an inspiration to do what I’ve done here. My coach and the Army have provided huge support, and I’d like to thank them first,” said Saikhom as he struggled for words due to the exhaustion.
“For all the hard work I’ve put in, seeing that I’ve achieved my personal best feels rewarding,” he added.
Saikhom paced himself to perfection and did not try to overdo things, albeit not getting the start he would’ve desired. In the 1.9km swim, the first event of the day, at the Miramar beach, he came second only to Olympian swimmer Sajan Prakash.
Sajan was part of a relay team, and despite providing a four-minute headstart to his teammate for the cycling event that followed, they could not keep up the pace and fell from the top three gradually.
Meanwhile, Saikhom continued to rise up the ranks, maintained an average pace of 35.50 km/hr, and completed the 90 km bike event with just over two and a half hours on the clock.
With the second-placed Berral nowhere in the frame, Saikhom ran towards the finish line, with the crowd chanting his name in unison. Legendary tennis star Leander Paes, the race ambassador, was the first to greet him at the finish line, and presented the gold medal.
Egypt got a double podium finish as Yasmin Halawa clinched gold in the women’s event, clocking 5:22:50. Karin Van Leersum of the Netherlands and Ketaki Sathe of India came second and third, respectively.
“I’m feeling good, alive. But yes, it was tough, especially cycling, because of the humidity. But I was able to manage, thanks to the volunteers who were present almost everywhere, distributing cold water bottles. It was a great outing for our country as Ahmed too came in the top three,” Halawa said.
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