10th Langkawi Ironman 2009.
February 27, 2009
I was writing my report for my crossover tonight, and after reading it again, I thought it read like a professional news story that might come out in the newspapers. If you’re a journalisty type person, I’d appreciate comments on how I can Improve my writing. Here’s my report:
Fad da dilly’o reporting from the beautiful island city of Langkawi, where the 10th Langkawi Ironman Triathlon will be commencing tomorrow, the 28th of February. Last night witnessed the official launch of the Langkawi Ironman 2009 at the Carbo Night at the Anjung Jetty. Participants and media were treated to a smorgasboard of food, mostly carbs, for the energy that they’ll need on race day. Present for the ceremony were race director A. Chandrakumanan, and Kedah Youth and Sports Exco, Datuk Othman Aziz who is expected to see the racers off on race day.
The inaugural langkawi Ironman was held in 2000, and thousands have crossed the finish line since then. Tomorrow another 735 participants are expected to run the race, and Malaysia being the host is fielding the largest number of ironmen followed by Japan and Germany. But the Ironman is no walk in the park; with a 3.8km swimming course, 180km bike trail, topped off with a 42.2 km marathon, it’s quite plain to see why the Ironman event is dubbed “the toughest show on earth”. We’ll have to wait and see at the end of tomorrow how many manage to cross the finish line to add to the tally.
Of the total contestants taking part, 44 Professional entries from 13 countries are currently preparing themselves mentally and physically for the gruelling test tomorrow. Competition will be super tough, with Canadian team TVB not taking any chances by fielding 6 of their Ironmen; 3 men and 3 ladies. Also present will be ex-TVB athlete, and last year’s champion, Belinda Granger who’s here for the third time and this time she’s got her title to defend.
Asked how it feels to be competing against her ex teammates from TVB, Granger admitted she is slightly nervous not being in the team because she knows how hard they train. However she said she left the team purely due to sponsorship reasons and is still maintaing good rappor with her former team.
Adding to the pool of athletic talent in this years Ironman are ex-Olympians, Japanese Hiroyuki Nishiuchi and Reynaldo from Brazil. Olympians though they may be, this is not some regular marathon. They’re up against former Ironmen champions, including 2 time Langkawi Ironman champ, Bryan Rhodes. He’ll be taking on Last years Ironman Japan winner Luke McKenzie and perenntial top five Ironman Petr Vabrousek.
The event will also see the participation of PC, or physically challenged competitors. In an exclusive interview with Traxxfm this afternoon after the press conference, Amy Palmiero-Winters, 36 year old native of new york who had her left leg amputated below the knee after a motorcycle accident in 1994, said this would be her 2nd Ironman event and her 1st time in Malaysia. Asked if she’s ready to deal with the Malaysian Heat she said “in any race, the one element you can’t control is mother nature, so you have to make the best of it and take it in stride”. Wearing a custom made prosthetic, she’s got 9 world records under her belt. And to top that, Amy tells me she’s hoping to make it to the Kona Hawaii Ironman, and she plans to get there in her age group category, and not in the PC category as we might have expected. How about that? You can tell that it takes a constitution made of steel, in order to test your mettle, and prove yourself to be the real Ironman. Fad da Dilly’o reporting LIVE from Langkawi, for the 10th, Langkawi Ironman.
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