LANGKAWI: From Ironman to ‘free man’ - Malaysia’s veteran athlete Yee Sze Mun (pix) will retire from triathlon after competing in the Ironman Langkawi 70.3 tomorrow.
Sze Mun, 86, said he had given his all to the sport and tomorrow’s race would be his last.
“Overall, I have been involved in the sport for 30 years, picking up all sorts of injuries. But these injuries were the result of doing something I love - Ironman.
“I will retire after tomorrow’s Ironman 70.3. As soon as I cross the finish line, I will be known as a ‘free man’ because I no longer need to follow a tight training schedule,” he told Bernama here today.
Sze Mun, who hails from Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, said that after tomorrow he would be free to sleep at any time he wants and to indulge in his favourite food without having to worry about the extra calories.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 for participating 20 times in Ironman championships in Malaysia and other countries.
He was also among the pioneers of Ironman Langkawi, which was introduced in 2000.
Sze Mun said he chose to retire at this year’s Ironman Langkawi 70.3 so that he could feature this event in his second book, ‘Couch Potato To Ironman’, which is expected to be launched next year.
“I had wanted to retire earlier but my wife suggested that I use my participation in this year’s Langkawi Ironman 70.3 to write the closing chapter for the book.
“What is certain is that tomorrow my torture will end. It is not easy to complete this race at the age of 86. My worry is cycling because I have a neck injury. I’m not setting any time target but I will finish the race,” he added.
Sze Mun, who made his Ironman championships debut in Kona, Hawaii in 1995, has participated in 20 Ironman championships and 41 Ironman 70.3 championships.
The Ironman championships kick off at 7 am tomorrow, with Ironman Malaysia involving a 3.8km swim, 180km cycling and 42.2km run and Ironman Langkawi 70.3 involving a 1.9km swim, 90km cycling and 21.1km run. -Bernama
