Ironman 70.3 Goa: All about adrenaline rush and bearing the winter sun

The 2022 edition of Ironman 70.3 Goa on Sunday (November 13) was all about adrenaline rush and exorbitant entry fees. Post the Covid-19 pandemic in India, an extreme endurance event in Goa over the weekend turned out to be a good platform for enthusiastic athletes to exhibit their fighting spirit.

Based out of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Major Sachin Singh Kuntal was excited that his team finished fourth in the relay event of the Ironman 70.3.

Kuntal told Sportskeeda in a post-race interaction:

“I went all out in the 90km cycling segment of the race.”

“But our team was a bit weak in the swimming section of the race otherwise we could have claimed podium finish in relay event.”

Kuntal has been passionate about extreme sports for the last couple of years and has competed in several ultra-cycling events across India. He has invested Rs 3 lakh in the racing cycle and wants to go for an individual triathlon event in the future.

The army officer added:

“I plan to improve my open-water swimming skills so that I am able to test myself in a triathlon next year.”

For Vinolee Ramalingam of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, the challenging Ironman 70.3 route in Goa turned out to be good preparation for next month’s event in Western Australia. Despite suffering cramps in the 21km section due to hot and humid conditions, the triathlete from Thanjavur finished second overall in the 35-39 age group.

Vinolee said:

“The Sunday race in Goa will act as preparation for next month's Ironman competition in Perth.”

Catijn Schierbeek, a European tourist in Goa, didn’t miss a chance to test herself with the Ironman 70.3.

Schierbeek revealed:

“I borrowed a racing cycle to compete in the Ironman. I wasn’t able to race the 21km leg as fast as i wanted due to mid-day sun.”

While Schierbeek of the Netherlands came first in the women’s section with a time of five hours and 10: 46 seconds, Nihal Baig won the men’s race in four hours and 29 minutes.

The Ironman 70.3 here in Panaji comprised of 1.9km of open water swim, 90km cycling and 21km of running on the road. Since the event started nearly 45 minutes late in the morning, it became more challenging for the competitors to bear the warm weather and a sunny winter.

One competitor said:

“The race was scheduled to be held at 6.40am but got delayed as the chief guest arrived late to flag-off the event.”

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Exorbitant entry fee for Ironman 70.3 creates concern

While the entry fee for the relay was over Rs 40,000, it was Rs 20,000 and above in the individual category. Deepak Raj, the race director, told Sportskeeda that the individual entry per athlete was Rs 20,000, but several athletes claimed they paid more for the Ironman 70.3.

There was no prize money for the winners. When asked about the exorbitant entry fee, Raj responded:

“You don’t have right information.”

The race director, however, was reluctant to speak on the delay to start the race as the competitors had to wait for over 40 minutes.

All Raj said was:

“I am busy. Will speak to you later.”

An athlete from Tamil Nadu told Sportskeeda:

“I paid Rs 20,000 entry fee for 2020 event. The event was canceled, but my money wasn’t refunded.”

“I had no other option this time but to compete in the 2022 edition on Sunday.”

The first edition of the Ironman 70.3 race was held in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 editions were postponed due to the Coronavirus.