Triathletes out to shine on Merdeka Day

triathletes have set their minds on achieving the best possible finish to make the country proud, especially since they will be competing on Merdeka Day at the Asian Games today .

National triathletes Irene Chong See Win and Teoh Sue Ling are among the many Malaysian athletes carrying the country’s hopes for glory as they make their debut in the regional games, with only one thing in mind — to to the best they can for the nation.

A triathlete needs to have strong mental and physical strength to endure 1.5 kilometers of swimming, 40 km of cycling and 10 km of running.

Chong, 29, is aiming for a top-15 finish in her first overseas outing since winning bronze at the 2017 Sea Games.

“It is quite special to race on Merdeka Day and I am very proud to be able to represent the country while others will be enjoying their holiday. For the past one year, the only international event I competed in was the Port Dickson International Triathlon last month (July).

“This was because I had resumed my studies and was lacking financial support. But I never stopped training. Ready or not, tomorrow (today) is competition day, so I just need to go all-out and do my best,” said the Bachelor of Sports Science undergraduate who is pursuing her tertiary education at University Malaya.

Meanwhile, last-minute replacement Teoh, 39, hopes to match or better her personal best of two hours and 30 minutes after having gone through intense preparation.

“It is so special because it is Merdeka and we are competing for the nation. This is the first time I am competing on Merdeka Day and the feeling is different,” said Teoh, who is replacing the injured Serena Yang.

National coach and team manager Peter Lau said the national triathletes are under no pressure to garner medals or try to challenge their much fancied, stronger competitors

The aim is to improve on their personal bests and pave the way for continuous development of the sport in Malaysia.

“We cannot challenge countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Hong Kong because, technically, they are ahead of us; we are still only at the beginning.

“Although we have been competing in races for many years, only recently have we started to build a national team to actually compete at the Southeast Asian and Asian levels.

“We hope that they will do well and their results will encourage budding, athletic youngsters to take up the sport. It is an Olympic sport, we need to develop it further,” he said.

The women’s individual event is set to start at the Jakabaring Sports City Lake today.

The men’s individual event is tomorrow and the mixed team relay on Sunday, at the same venue.