Rupesh S., a 43-year-old dentist from Alappuzha, has won his second Ironman title with a win at the long-distance triathlon event held at Kalmar in Sweden recently.
In the annual Ironman Kalmar, Dr. Rupesh successfully completed a 2.4-mile (3.86-km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25-km) cycling, and a 26.22-mile (42.2-km) run in 14:34:18 as against the time limit of 16 hours to complete the race.
Considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world, Ironman Kalmar was one in a series of triathlons organised jointly by the World Triathlon Corporation and Ironman. “Swimming in the deep sea was a tough task due to cold weather and the presence of Jellyfish. The windy conditions made the bicycle ride a bit difficult. The preparations helped me to overcome the challenges and win the Ironman title,” says Dr. Rupesh.
Last year, he won an Ironman title at Tallinn in Estonia. Prior to that he successfully completed Ironman 70.3 Bintan in Indonesia in 2019 and Ironman 70.3 in Dubai in March 2022 and Ironman 70.3 Goa in November the same year. Ironman 70.3, also known as Half Ironman, consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bicycle ride, and a 13.1-mile run.
Dr. Rupesh, who never participated in a competitive swimming and athletics event during his school and college days, became an athlete by chance at the age of 34. The dentist was the captain of the Pushpagiri College of Dental Sciences staff team for intercollegiate games in 2014 when he was forced to compete in a 5-km run as no one from his team was ready to participate in the marathon. Much to his surprise, he finished first in the event. It gave him the confidence to participate in half marathons. He turned to triathlon in 2018 where three disciplines- swimming, cycling and running- have to be completed in one go.
Rupesh practises six days a week to maintain physical fitness and be competitive.
