Time for Malaysians to be champion Ironmen

30/01/2001

Triathletes are a special breed of athletes, and some say you have to be
half-crazy to even think of competing in an ironman, and crazy to complete
it in a record time. Words written at the back of a Japanese triathlete T-
shirt sums the crazy situation of the sport: Finishing Second is First
Among The Losers.
The 2001 Malaysia Ironman Triathlon which ended in Langkawi on Sunday
saw a vast improvement in the Malaysian entries with Mohamed Razani Husain
clocking a sizzling 10:31:42 to finish 21st overall in the men's
professional category.
And many at the finish line at Dataran Lang thought that he will be the
last of the 35 malaysians who will breast the tape inside of 14 hours. But
they were soon proven wrong when policeman Zulkifli Shamsudin came in at
11:45:05 followed by six other athletes who dipped below 14 hours in the
gruelling race made tougher by the scorching mid-day island sun.
Malaysian wonderwoman Fiona Lim, who clocked 12:56:24, and Zulkifli
earned themselves a wildcard to the Ironman Triathlon world championship
in Kona, Hawaii on Oct 6 together with 30 other foreign athletes who
clocked top times in their respective age-groups.
Last year, 56 Malaysians took part in the Langkawi ironman and 26
completed the race. This year, only 35 took part and 26 completed the
race.
While the foreign athletes, especially the men's profesional winner
Bryan Rhodes who bettered last year's mark (Kaoru Matsuda, 8:49:12) by
clocking an overall 8:43:54, were in a class of their own, it looks like
Malaysians might catch up with them in the near future.
The weather, for one, is on their side. World number one Lothar Leder of
Germany failed to become the leader, eventhough he is the only man who has
clocked below eight hours in the '96 Ironman Europe, and world's best
woman triathlete Natascha Badmann had a bad day because they could not
cope with the heat and humidity. Defending champions Matsuda and Susan
Peter from Australia also caved in to the heat.
Malaysian competitors should use this as an added advantage in the 2002
ironman in January in Langkawi. But first, they must be serious in their
preparations for the race and train at least a month earlier in Langkawi.
(END)