Arafat to represent Bangladesh at USA’s Ironman World Championship

Mohammad Shamsuzzaman Arafat, popularly known as Ironman Arafat, is representing Bangladesh at the Ironman World Championship. He qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship last September, taking the national flag to the international championship for the first time.

The Ironman World Championship 2022 is set to be held on May 7 at Utah in St George Town of the USA.  

To be an ironman, a participant is required to complete 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling, and 42.2 km of running within 17 hours. Every year Ironman Triathlon Competitions are held around the globe to select athletes for the Ironman World Championship.

"Bangladesh has yet to participate in many sports in the World Cup," says Arafat. "It brings me great honor and pride to be the first Bangladeshi participant in the Ironman World Championship."

In pursuit of his dream to conquer the Ironman World Championship, Arafat has been preparing since 2013. He has been training himself for almost a decade now.

He participated in Ironman Championship Malaysia in 2017 and Ironman European Championship Germany in 2019.

Arafat finished the Ironman Championship Malaysia for the second time in 2019 before participating in Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman) Competition 2020 held in Thailand. Finally, Arafat represented Bangladesh in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship 2021.

Despite the lack of proper training environment and equipment, Arafat continues his practice in Dhaka.

As an athlete, Arafat has also participated in the Bangla Channel swimming challenge and runs from Teknuf to Tetulia astonishing the masses.

"I did my best to qualify, and I will do my very best to overcome my limits in the championship," concludes Arafat.

Arafat has left for the U.S yesterday 15th April 2022, aiming for the Ironman World Championship.

Translated by Akhlakur Rahman