Ironman World Championship 2022: Chennai athlete makes history

Raghul Sankaranarayanan, India’s fastest Ironman, is now the first athlete from the country to qualify through rankings for the Ironman World Championships

It was a cold, rainy April morning in Port Elizabeth, South Africa where 800 contestants waited for the Ironman race to begin. The start of the race was postponed and the swimming section of the race was cancelled due to inclement weather and the sea temperature, which had dipped to 16 degrees Celsius. The race was now whittled down to a 180 kilometre cycling leg and a 42.2 kilometre run.

Raghul Sankaranarayanan, India’s fastest Ironman triathlete, was amongst only eight Indians participating.

Every Ironman is a battle of the mind and body. The physical and mental strain put on the body while swimming 3.8 kilometre, cycling 180 kilometre and running 42.2 kilometre is brutal.

The pandemic, however, made this race additionally challenging for Raghul. “The strict lockdown left us with almost no training except for indoor cycling... In May, 2021 I was infected by the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus and all the years of training and fitness I had built went down the drain.”

He took two weeks off after recovery, and I started training again. “I remember sitting on my indoor cycle and doing about 50 to 65% of my usual power output when my heart rate hit the ceiling. I was shocked to see the impact that covid had on my general health and my cardiovascular system. I had lost around 5.5 kg of muscle mass.”

The South African race is etched clearly in Raghul’s mind. He recollects, “I was trembling with the cold and I wasn’t ready to start. After hesitating for 20 minutes, I checked outside the tent to find none of the other athletes in sight. I grabbed my bike and started out... For the first few kilometres I didn’t see any of the other athletes but after a few kilometres I started overtaking them.”

His late start ultimately did not matter, for he managed a feat that no Indian had before.