LANGKAWI - Over 300 youngsters, aged between one and 17, took part in the Ironkids competition in Langkawi today.
It is held in conjunction with the Ironman 70.3 and Ironman Malaysia 2024 Championships tomorrow.
Although the Ironkids competition, comprising the community run and aquathlon (swimming and running), was delayed by almost 20 minutes due to heavy rain, it failed to dampen the spirit of the contestants, particularly the debutants.
The 1.8-kilometre community run was divided into three age categories - one to six, seven to 10 and 11 to 17. The aquathlon had two age categories - seven to 10 and 11 to 15, with the participants having to swim for 100 metres (m) and run for 1.8 km.
A Bernama survey found that the Ironkids competition received tremendous response, with parents out in force to support and cheer their children on, with some even running alongside their kids.
Anis Hartini Haron, of Shah Alam, said she and her family came to support her two children, aged nine and 12, who were making their Ironkids debut.
"They learned to swim when they were six. Although they are not into running, we wanted them to be active in sports as I used to be active in sports and am planning to make a comeback, hopefully in next year's Ironman competition,” said the 43-year-old.
As for Suhaimi Ahmad, also of Shah Alam, he said that he came with his wife to accompany their two children, aged 12 and 14, who were competing in the aquathlon event for the first time.
"They have been for the past few months, spending between two and three hours per training session. They are confident swimmers but not so great at the running discipline,” said the 46-year-old Suhaimi. - BERNAMA