Ex-Army Colonel Arun Malik completes Ironman triathlon, toughest one-day event on planet

Retired Indian Army Colonel Arun Malik successfully completed the Ironman triathlon event, held in West Asia nation Oman. Malik finished Ironman 70.3 Oman in just 5 hours 28 minutes.

“Col Arun Malik (Retd) finished Ironman 70.3 Oman in 5 hours 28 minutes. The international race, also known to be the #Toughest single day event on the planet comprised 1.9 km of swimming followed by 90 km cycling and 21.1 km run making a total distance of 112.5 kms (70.3 miles). #Proud #IndianArmy,” shared the Indian Army on social media.

IronMan, organized by World Triathlon Corporation, is one of the world’s toughest one-day sporting events. Ironman 70.3 Oman race included three stages: swimming for 1.9km, biking for 90km, and finally running for 21.1km.

The inaugural edition of Ironman race in India is expected to be held in Goa in October 2019. Organisers have already recieved 1,000 registrations.

The Ironman 70.3 Goa is scheduled on October 20 in the coastal state and participants need to swim 1.9 kms, cycle 90 kms and run 21.1 kms to complete the race, they said.

The organisers said the registrations were received from 20 countries and the youngest participant for the race is 18-year-old, while the oldest one is aged 61. Ironman, which was started with a single event in 1978, now has over 230 events across 53 countries.