Li Pengcheng crosses the line at the Ironman World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, in October. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Li Pengcheng is creating a buzz after setting a China record at the 40th Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, Li Yingxue reports.
It had rained the day before the race. "On your marks!" came the order. As the crack of the starter's pistol broke the tension, the temperature was around 21 degrees, and there was breeze on the beach-it was the most perfect day to race in the event's 40-year history.
With the report of the gun still ringing in his ears, Li Pengcheng, also known as Buzz, along with more than 2,500 competitors, jumped into the water-9 hours 10 minutes and 36 seconds later, he crossed the finish line as the first Asian athlete.
It was the 40th Ironman World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, in the United States, and Li's fourth consecutive time competing on the world stage. In doing so, he established the record in an Ironman race for an athlete in China.
Inaugurated in 1978, the Ironman World Championship is a long-distance triathlon race organized by the World Triathlon Corp, comprising a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bicycle ride and a full marathon (42.195 km).
It's the holy grail for all triathletes, and so it is for Li. When he started to train for triathlons in 2011, he set a target to compete at the Kona race within five years. He qualified for Kona in 2015, but back then, the 20-year-old didn't anticipate his career as an Ironman triathlete would go so far.
He finishes swimming in a triathlon held this year in Chengdu, Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Finding his feet
"My PE was poor when I was a teenager. I couldn't even finish the 800-meter exam in my PE class when I entered college in 2010," Li recalls.
Born in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, Li moved to Chengdu to study architecture at Sichuan Engineering Technical College. His college life was a simple repetition of the dorm-classroom-canteen cycle, until he heard about the triathlon.
"I saw some videos of the competition, and I noticed some older participants would get a rousing welcome when they arrived at the finish line, even though they could only walk the last few meters," says Li, who, filled with admiration, wanted to experience a moment like that.
"I can swim, ride and run, so I decided to try," he says.
Li started to train at the end of 2011, and 10 months later, he lined up for his first race in Chengdu.
"I took part in the 18-24 age group, in which only five other people competed and, luckily, I was the first of them to cross the line," Li recalls. "Even though the race was not that competitive, I still felt proud of myself, as I never thought that I could ever win a sports competition."
The victory encouraged Li to train harder and learn more about the sport. Triathlon was still in its infancy in China, so Li could only find some information by visiting online bulletin boards.
"To pass an hour, you could swipe through your phone or play video games, but by training I felt I was getting the most value out of my time," Li notes.
He finishes swimming in a triathlon held this year in Chengdu, Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Ironman upgrade
From 2012 to 2013, Li competed in a dozen standard triathlons-each comprising a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, and a 10 km run.
In 2014, however, he decided to push himself to that next, grueling stage and he signed up for his first Ironman race in Langkawi, Malaysia. The sections were of a distance he had never reached in training.
"It was a challenge for me, but what surprised me was the hot weather there, which I had never experienced," remembers Li, who overcame the blazing sun and won first place in his age group. That victory earned him his ticket to the following year's Ironman race in Kona.
"That was also the first time I got to wrap the national flag around my shoulders at the finish line, and it felt like I was a hero-like I was writing history," he says. "Ordinary people like me rarely have a chance to win honors for our country, but in that moment, when you hear the audience cheering for you, and they know you are from China, you feel nothing but pride."
Li didn't cry while he enjoyed the moment, but after the race, when he recalled all of the preparation and the tough conditions he endured during the race, he gave in to his emotions.
Despite that first attempt in Kona not going his way-his energy ran out in the middle of the marathon, and he had to half walk and half run to the end, taking more than 10 hours to reach the finish line-he made the most of the experience.
"I was inexperienced during that race, but what is unforgettable was the atmosphere," Li says. "You get to see all the best triathlon equipment that, at the time, I had only read about online, and I had the opportunity to meet the world's top triathletes and learn from them-Kona is a paradise for triathlon lovers."
What Li didn't expect when he returned the following year to Langkawi to earn his second ticket to Kona, was that the weather would be even hotter and his competitors even stronger.
"That's the only race where the thought of giving up crossed my mind," he says. "Whether you ride or run, you feel like the sun is burning your back and the ground is reflecting that heat."
He didn't give up, even though he could only run slowly. "I kept telling myself to hold on, and I would speed up a little when I would see a supply point up ahead of me."
Swimming is Li's weakness, but running is his strength. Li was far behind his closest competitor in water, but he managed to pass him in the middle of the marathon to claim victory in his category once more.
"That athlete's record was much better than mine," Li says. "I didn't think I had a chance, but luckily he was also affected by the hot weather, but I seemed to endure it better."
He rides a bike in the contest. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Achieving growth
When he first attended the competition in Kona in 2015, there were only two competitors from the Chinese mainland. Li has seen the sport growing in China, though, as he has found himself in familiar company in Kona on recent visits-this year, the number of competitors from the Chinese mainland had grown to 33.
"Over the past two years, I noticed there were four triathlon competitions held in different cities in one weekend, and I realized this sport is getting popular in China," says Li, who wants to help promote the sport with his good results.
Last year, the national games allowed amateur triathletes to take part in the professional competition for the first time, if they could pass the qualification competition. Li was attracted by the challenge and started to prepare the minute he heard the news.
On Sept 3, 2017, Li stood on the start line as he had hoped, becoming the first and only amateur to compete in triathlon at the national games. He finished 17th out of 39 athletes.
"It was the most difficult race, as all my competitors are professional. However, they respect me, and we bonded after the race," Li says.
Currently competing in the 25-29 age group, Li says the most competitive section is the one he will join in three years time, the 30-34 age group. He has upgraded his training accordingly in readiness for the step-up.
Triathletes usually have to train alone. Loneliness is a difficulty they all have to overcome, but Li feels lucky that his wife supports him. When he goes out running, his wife rides alongside on a bike, providing encouragement and supplies.
This year, Li has also switched coaches, finding one who has helped him to train harder and more professionally, which led to him achieving a personal best at the Kona race in October. He wrote on his WeChat moments after one day's training: "Hate your coach on training day; love him on race day."
As for the future, turning professional is an option for Li, even though he knows it is a long road.
