Wong Ah Thiam PT at Kona World Ironman Championship

A clear mind helps triathlete

By NG WEI LOON
Star Metro central 2.11.06

Wong accomplished his personal best in his second appearance at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona.

TRAINING with peace of mind was the main reason triathlete Wong Ah Thiam accomplished his personal best in his second appearance at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona.

“A year ago, I was not able to focus entirely on my training because I was troubled about securing sponsorship to feature in the event for the first time,” Wong recalled.

“This year, Standard Chartered stepped forward to ease my financial burden. They paid for my expenses to compete against the best in the world. I am grateful for their support to assist me in achieving my goal,” he added.

In addition, the 32-year-old mechanic also received an aerodynamic customised Polygon Helios TT bicycle specially made for time trial and triathlon competitions from his employer LeRun Industries Sdn Bhd.

At the event, he surprised himself when he clocked 9'57 to complete the world championship course comprising 3.8km swim, 180.2km cycling and 42.2km run.

Wong finished 349 in a field of 1,793 qualifiers.

“Initially, my target was to dip below 10 hours and be among the 500 finishers,” he added.
In his debut appearance at the world championship last year, he was only in 783rd position with a time of 10'43.

He earned his berth to be part of the prestigious Ironman event with his 18th place finish (10’15) at the Langkawi Ironman in February.

For this season’s world championship, Wong began his campaign in June.

“Knowing the course better as I have raced there a year ago was an advantage. Personally, it was a very fruitful outing. I am satisfied with my performance there. I also enjoyed the spectators coming out in full force to cheer for the participants regardless of the competitors' standing in the race. It was such a marvellous experience seeing them lining up on both sides of the road to provide their support,” Wong said.

Coming off the water in 808th position with a time of 1'12, Wong moved up the pack to 471st spot on the overall standing in the bike ride.

“Although I had my mind set on going below 10 hours, I was still behind my race schedule after the swimming and cycling legs. I struggled a bit in the swim because it is not my best of the three disciplines. The cycling leg was a challenge too as I had to cope with the headwind.

Fortunately, the new bike provided the right momentum,” he explained.

Wong stepped up the pace and clocked 3'28 in the final discipline to conclude the race in 349th position.

In the process, he reduced his time on the marathon run by 18 minutes.

“I realised that I had to chase hard for the lost time on the running leg. I felt strong after the bike ride and I just went all out,” pointed out Wong, adding that his previous personal best for the marathon run was 3'46.

Currently, he is back in training to prepare for the Powerman in Lumut, Perak on Nov 11. The duathlon course consists of 10km run, 60km cycling and 10km run.

His final international assignment for the year will be at the Phuket Triathlon in December.
After his retirement from competitive cycling, Wong has completed a total of six Ironman competitions.

Next season, he is aiming to register 9'45 at the Langkawi Ironman.