Millennium city-based industrialist Surender Yadav finishes the Ironman Triathlon in the Heroes’ Hour

Sweden: Haryana born Surender Yadav earns the title of Ironman to finish and clear the 16-hour time limit in the Ironman Kalmar Triathlon held in Sweden – one of the toughest versions of the format.

He crossed the finish line with a time of 15:59:32 – half a second before the end of the heroes’ hour. 48-year-old Surender is the owner of industry leader Sidharth Automat and is based out of the millennium city. With a penchant for participating in various sporting events around the world, he has been a part of the Outlaw Half Nottingham and New York City Triathlon.

“I did it as a personal goal with a message. Fitness was never a consideration until a few years ago when I moved to Gurgaon. While living in one of the most polluted cities in India, I felt a great need of fitness for myself. Training in Gurgaon vs competing in Sweden was a stark example of how our beautiful city needs to fix its pollution. I am an industrialist, I never considered becoming a triathlete but sports have really inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and try making a difference – that’s the notion we all need to follow ” shared Surender Yadav

He further added “I am very happy and proud to be one of the few Indians in the Ironman Triathlon and completing it in spite of its tricky nature. The triathlon event is very less-known in the country. I am working actively to increase the awareness of Triathlon in the country and doing my bit to promote such sports in India. I hope to inspire and encourage people like me to become Ironman ”.

Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation, consisting of a 3.86 km swim, a 180.25 km bicycle ride and a marathon of 42.20 km, raced in the respective order. It is considered as one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.