Joaquin Berral’s silver triumph highlights spirit of sportsmanship at Ironman 70.3

Berral, who participated in the 2022 Ironman World Championship in France, clinched silver and managed to end on a high despite a setback a day before the race.

(From L-R) Ahmed Iraky, Bishworjit Singh Saikhom and Joaquin Berral at the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Goa. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“He’s the hero! He’s the Hero!” were the first words uttered by Spanish athlete Joaquin Berral directed towards Bishworjit Singh Saikhom, who had just clinched gold in the 2024 edition of the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Goa on Sunday. 

Berral, who participated in the 2022 Ironman World Championship in France, clinched silver despite a sedate start. He finished 11th overall in swimming but made up the lost time during the 90km bike as he cruised to the transition phase, averaging 34.43 km/hr, and managed to end on a high. 

The Spaniard considers India his lucky charm, as it has played an important role in his life. His then-girlfriend, now-wife, said yes to his proposal in Jaipur, and that is one of the reasons he travelled to Goa despite having a tight work schedule. 

Everything felt fine as Berral was elated with the result until he revealed a setback he suffered a day before the start of the race. 

On a hot and humid Saturday noon, the athletes reached close to the race’s finishing point, where they had to dock their bikes. Stringent checks on their bikes were enforced to ensure there were no faults with the athletes’ equipment.

Berral was in for a shock as his bike’s hanger was broken due to negligence from the airlines he travelled to Goa from Spain. He frantically started to search for the tool used to sort the issue, but it turned out he didn’t carry it with him. 

However, the help came in via a fellow competitor, Ahmed Iraky of Egypt, who would eventually finish just over a minute behind him, to settle for bronze. 

“Yeah, you could call him my guardian angel,” Berral said. 

“The airline broke my bike, but this guy (pointing towards Ahmed) was able to help me thankfully. He gave me a few bolts and the necessary tools, and the mechanics there fixed the bike. He helped me sleep peacefully the night before the race,” the 37-year-old added with a huge smile on his face. 

Legendary tennis player Leander Paes, who is the race’s ambassador, during the pre-event press conference, said, “I think sport is the greatest vehicle to market a country. Why? Because it unifies people.”

Ahmed’s comments on this incident underlined the validity of Paes’ statement. “He had a broken hanger; we have the same bikes, and I had the spare parts, so why not help him?” I like to race people at their best, and I think he would’ve done the same for me,” said Ahmed. 

“It doesn’t matter he beat me. This is only fair, and I think he trained much better than me. With World Championships spots at stake, it’s not fair that an athlete ends up not participating because of issues like this,” he added.