Maiden win for Edwin at Phuket IronKids meet

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BUDDING triathlete Edwin Thiang had a taste of personal glory by chalking up his maiden victory at the Phuket IronKids that was held at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TLSC) in Thailand recently.

The 15-year-old SMK Seafield student from Subang Jaya emerged as the boys’ 14 to 15 years champion ahead of compatriot Iqmal Hakim in the 300m swim, 12km cycle and 3km run challenge.

Edwin led from the start unchallenged as he went on to finish the race with a healthy one-lap advantage on the 500m running track over his closest challenger.

“Going into the race, I did not know the exact strength of the field. I only realised that I had a good chance to do well when I saw other competitors lining up at the starting line,” he said.

In the lead: Garden International School duo Sian Wilson (front) and Zoe tackling the seniors course.

Although Edwin has been competing in various junior sections of multi disciplines endurance events held in Malaysia since 2006, he has not savoured the joy of winning before the outing in Thailand.

“Besides finishing third on several occasions, I have also settled for second in the past. The recent win has boosted my confidence to scale for greater heights. This year, I have joined a group of young triathletes training under the guidance of Peter Lau in Putrajaya on Sundays. We are aiming to qualify for an Asian junior meet in Japan next year,” said Edwin, adding that he has increased his training frequency to over 10 separate training sessions a week over the year-end school holidays.

Meanwhile, it was a memorable outing for the Malaysian and Malaysia-based athletes competing under the Triathlon Association of Malaysia (TRIAM) banner.

They flexed their domination by finishing among the leading performers in their respective categories at the meet that drew a total of 210 competitors.

Stretching his limit: Edwin is increasing his training frequency to more than 10 sessions a week over the year-end school holiday.

In the girls’ 12 to 13 years, defending champion Zoe Natasha Bowden spearheaded the challenge as the fastest on the seniors’ course. Following her victory with a time of 41:55 on the same course at the inaugural meet earlier in April, the 12-year-old Zoe of Garden International School (GIS) retained her top position with an improved time of 39:23.

Another GIS student Sian Wilson, also registered her second consecutive victory in the girls’ 14 and 15 years section.

In the intermediate division comprising the 150m swim, 6km cycle and 1km run course, Max Luer and Mayumi Shinozuka were the boys’ and girls’ nine to 11 years winners respectively.

In addition, Muhammad Safiy Mohd Shamsir won the boys’ six to eight years junior division covering the 50m swim, 3km cycle and 500m run.

The third edition of Phuket IronKids has been scheduled for April next year.