300 Participate in Hyderabad Triathlon

Online, October 17, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The first ever Hyderabad Triathlon conducted by Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC), was held at the Gachibowli Stadium. Over 300 athletes participated in the three streams: Novice, Sprint and Olympic.

Over 30 athletes took part in the toughest of them all - the Olympic Triathlon which involved an International format. Swimming (1.5 kms) / Cycling (40 kms) / Running (10 kms) . Among those who participated included twice Ironman George Bishop, half Ironman local lad Sunil Menon, senior IPS officer Rajiv Trivedi who flagged off and participated in the event. The event did not involve any winner as it was mainly a test of endurance and all the 30 participants completed the event. The timings ranged from two hours 24 minutes to the last to the post who finished five hours plus.

The Sprint Triathlon which involved 20 kms cycling / 5 kms running / 750 mtrs swim saw over 65 athletes who vied for the honours. For many, swimming at the Olympic standard Gachibowli swimming pool was an experience in itself. While some found the going easy others had to slog it out.

The easiest of the three Triathlons, the Novice which involved 8 kms cycling / 2 km running / 300 mtrs swim witnessed over 65 participants some of whom were trying their luck for the first time. But the best part was that all of them completed the events.

In the evening, three events were held which included a Novice / Sprint Relay wherein the three participants worked in a relay format with each passing the baton to the next participant. For those who loved the water there was Aquathlon and there was Duathlon which involved Cycling and running. Hundreds of kids and families participated in the evening events. A team from IIIT Hyderabad did their group Duathlon.

According to Diyanat Ali, GHAC Founder, the club plans a bigger and better format Triathlon next year. "With the huge levels of interest and participation that we saw today we will make this a pan India event next year with a half Ironman event. Of course, there can be no better setting than the Gachibowli stadium and the Service road of Outer Ring Road".