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3 Pune triathletes qualify for 2020 Half Ironman World Championships
RadStrong training academy saw all 25 of its Punekars complete the race
Fifty-two triathletes from Pune’s RadStrong academy participated in, and successfully finished, India’s first Ironman event in Panaji, Goa on Sunday.
RadStrong is the one-man training academy run by the nation’s only Ironman certified coach, Kaustubh Radkar, a Puneite.
Twenty-five of the 52 triathletes competing in Goa are from Pune, and three managed to clock times at this “half-triathlon” event that qualified them for the 2020 Half Ironman World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand.
Abhishek Ahire from Pune is one of these athletes, while the other two are Rituja Udpikar and Swati Singh, both also from from Pune.
Udpikar (18-24) and Singh (30-34) both also finished third in their respective age categories in Panaji.
“The on-road support was brilliant. I enjoyed the race thoroughly. I want to participate in a full Ironman next year. I still have to train and plan for it, but I will definitely participate in the full event,” said the 23-year-old Udpikar.
In the men’s category, Ahire, who was participating in his first-ever triathlon event finished with a time of 6 hours and 7 minutes. “It feels amazing to accomplish something so huge in your debut at this event. I participated in my first full marathon in Mumbai last year and then I heard about Ironman. I was intrigued because I used to swim and cycle, and take part in numerous half-marathons, so I felt like this was the perfect stage to make my triathlon debut”, said the 25-year-old mechanical engineer.
Apart from the triathletes who reside in Pune, RadStrong academy saw four more athletes who came under limelight. In the women’s 25-29 years-old category, Shreya Sunthankar finished second, while Anju Khosla completed a third-place treble for RadStrong in the 50-54 year-old category. In the men’s category, Virenda Tripathi and Deepak Alhavay joined Abhishek Ahire in the list of triathletes who managed to qualify for the 2020 championships.
Kaustubh Radkar, who was on hand to see his trainees cross the finish line, said, “It feels amazing to see all the 52 RadStrong triathletes finish the race. Four women on the podium in their respective categories, and three men qualifying for the World Championships is the icing on the cake. This performance will motivate several others to participate in triathlons and Ironman races worldwide.”
The nation’s triathletes put up an extremely impressive performance at the event in Goa as the podium was dominated by the Indians. Bishworjit Singh, a Bombay Sappers havaldar from Pune won the Ironman, followed by Nihal Baig, from Mumbai, in second place, and Mahesh Lourembam, from Manipur, in third.
