India’s fastest Ironman Raghul Sankaranarayanan is now the first athlete from the country to qualify for the Ironman World Championships via rankings.
India’s fastest Ironman Raghul Sankaranarayanan is now the first athlete from the country to qualify for the Ironman World Championships via rankings.
It was a cold, rainy April morning in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, with 800 competitors awaiting the start of the Ironman race. The start of the race was postponed and the swimming section of the race was canceled due to bad weather and sea temperatures, which dropped to 16 °C. The race was now reduced to a 180 km cycling leg and a 42.2 km run.
Raghul Sankaranarayanan, India’s fastest Ironman triathlete, was among only eight Indians to participate.
Every Ironman is a battle of mind and body. The physical and mental pressure exerted on the body while swimming 3.8 kms, cycling 180 kms and running 42.2 kms is brutal.
The pandemic, however, made the race challenging for Raghul as well. “The strict lockdown gave us almost no training except indoor cycling… In May, 2021 I got infected with the delta version of the Covid-19 virus and all the years of training and fitness I had built up went down the drain. ,
After he recovered, he took two weeks off and I started training again. “I remember sitting on my indoor bicycle and doing about 50 to 65% of my normal power output when my heart rate hit the ceiling. Seeing the impact of COVID on my general health and my cardiovascular system, I Was shocked. I had lost about 5.5 kg of muscle.”
The caste of South Africa is clearly imprinted in Raghul’s mind. He recalls, “I was shivering from the cold and I wasn’t ready to start. After 20 minutes of hesitation, I checked outside the tent to see that no other athletes were visible. I grabbed my bike and went Walked… For the first few kilometres, I didn’t see any other athletes, but after a few kilometres, I started overtaking them.
His late start did not make any difference, as he did a feat that no Indian had before.
The athlete did a feat that no Indian had before. photo credit: special arrangement
For reference: There are a few routes to qualify for the World Championships. One way is to receive an honorary slot for athletes who have completed more than 12 Ironman races in their career, regardless of their ranking and placement in the race. Another route is to raise money for a charitable cause, in which you may also get a slot to participate, provided that the amount raised and the charity raised for it meets the guidelines set by the Ironman body.
Although there are different paths to qualify, Raghul chose the toughest one by finishing in the top few ranks in an international Ironman competition.
Athlete with his coach | photo credit: special arrangement
pedal power
Downhill sections were especially dangerous for cyclists with high cross winds and slippery wet roads. Raghul says, ‘My feet were hot but the body was not. The visor of my helmet was getting blurry. The high winds meant it wasn’t possible to cycle faster than my normal pace, but I just focused and pedaled as powerfully as I could. ,
Raghul says, “The strong wind and rain made it very difficult to pedal and my lower back and legs started to feel stretchy very early in the race. However I was determined to put up a good performance this time as it was the race that would decide whether I would be able to qualify for the annual Ironman World Championships to be held in Kailua Kona, Hawaii on October 8, 2022.
Despite missing out on grabbing a bottle of water at the final aid station at the 160-kilometer mark, which meant his next drink would be only after two kilometers into the bike ride and marathon run, Raghul was assisted in completing the cycling section. succeeded in Salt capsules and gels. With this and a strong tailwind he put in his best time for the last 20 kms of the cycling section.
When he started running Raghul says he was feeling good. “The transition was smooth and I started running at a brisk pace. Everything was going well until I started having cramps at the fourth kilometer mark. It came as a shock to me and I suddenly stopped. Many things were running through my mind. I asked myself “Is this the end of the race?”. I took a salt capsule, massaged my cramps and after two minutes started running again. I kept my attention for the next few kilometers. I was not ready to give up. I kept running to fulfill the goal that I had set for myself.” I nodded to my coach Lucie Zelenkova who was there to support me.
Raghul maintained good pace till the halfway point when he said his legs were locked and had to come to a dead halt. “I had to lean on a barricade for support and it took me more than three minutes to collect myself. Many times in the past I used to lose focus around this part of the race but this time I was determined to run the fastest to finish the race.
Raghul finished 68th in the 800, which was a believable performance, although he is not happy with his timing. Their coach Lucie Zelenkova, who represented the Czech Republic at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a former winner of Ironman South Africa and Barcelona, was however pleased, and said that many athletes were also challenged by the harsh conditions of the day.
championship sign
A day after the race, Raghul was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from the Ironman organization saying he had qualified for the annual World Championships. The championship in Hawaii will be Raghul’s ninth Ironman in eight years.
A professional trainer for long distance runners, cyclists and triathletes, Raghul has trained over 400 athletes over the past seven years and also runs ‘RI Diet Fix’, a brand of food smoothies. He is currently training for Hawaii. “I was overjoyed when I got the email. From 1978, the year the Ironman triathlon was born, until now, no one from India had qualified for the World Championships based on rankings,” he says, “I’ve been running with the cream of triathletes. Am. The most prestigious Ironman race in the world. ,