Bangladesh’s premier triathlete Shamsuzzaman Arafat was the fastest finisher among his South Asian counterparts in the Ironman World Championship 2023 which was held in Nice, France last week.
A total of 2,186 participants from 93 countries took part in the World Championship, including five from Bangladesh, four from India and one from Nepal.
Arafat competed better than the previous edition but could not finish among the top 100 in his age-group.
And it took him a little more time to learn that he was the fastest among the South Asian athletes in all categories.
“I was content with my overall position as it is difficult to compete against the rest of the world, especially the participants from Europe. When I knew I became the fastest in South Asia, it made me happier,” Arafat told Dhaka Tribune over phone from Germany where he is set to participate at the Berlin Marathon.
India’s Ujjwal Choudhary was the second fastest from South Asia with a total timing of 12 hours 26 minutes and 1 second while Binam Shrestha of Nepal placed third in the region after clocking 14 hours 6 minutes and 44 seconds.
Arafat was well ahead as he took 11 hours 31 minutes and 8 seconds to complete his race.
