This is Nepal’s first appearance at the international event which witnessed the participation of 70 different countries.

Ironman 70.3 is one of the most difficult one-day sports events in the world, including a 1.9 km ocean swim, 90 km cycling and 21.1 km run.

Khatri was coached by 24-time Indian Ironman finisher Kaustabh Radkar and Elite National Swimmer Sudip Rajbhandari.

Speaking about Khatri’s achievement Coach Radkar said that he was happy about Khatri’s achievement in the tough Ironman 70.3 triathlon race.

“In the end, his hard work paid off and he became the first Ironman race completer from Nepal,” he said.

Rajbhandari recalled his first meeting with Khatri stating that he was not even able to swim 25 meters on the first day.

“I was shocked because he approached me saying he wanted to compete in Ironman, one of the hardest one-day sporting events. After a few days of training I saw potential in him as he was very hard working. So I decided to train him even as the event was just six months away,” said Rajbhandari.

The Ironman race was first introduced in the US in 1978 and was organized by US Naval Commander John Collins and his wife. The first event witnessed the participation of 15 individuals in Hawai, USA.

“It was my childhood dream to be an athlete, I started training because I wanted to pose myself a challenge that would feel farfetched. Ironman to me seemed like a perfect fit so I trained for it relentlessly, my trainings lasted from two to six hours a day for one and a half year,” said Khatri.

He plans to continue participating in the race event in the years to come with the goal of achieving the World Championship Slot.

The post Alok Khatri Becomes Nepal’s First Ironman appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

A four-member Nepali team, comprising women swimmers Sofia Shah and Tisha Shakya and men swimmers Anubhav Subba and Suvam Shrestha, is leaving for Hungary on Wednesday to take part in the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest. They are being accompanied by coach Ratna Lal Maharjan.

Shah will participate in the women’s 50m and 100m freestyle events, while Shakya will swim in the 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle events. In the men’s section, Subba will take part in the 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle while Shrestha will compete in the 50m and 100 breaststroke events.

Coach Maharjan said that while the team is not expecting to win any medals in the event in which the world’s best swimmers are taking part, they are hopeful of breaking a few national records and utilize the learning opportunities that would be available.

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