Ironman 70.3  Colombo Triathlon was another one-of-a-kind event which took Sri Lanka internationally. With over 880 participants from Sri Lanka and across the globe participating in this unique event, Ironman 70.3 will be an annual event in the Sri Lankan sports calendar in future. A massive team including sponsors, volunteers, participants and other individuals got together to pull it off on a grand scale. 

Therefore, we spoke to a few of them who made it happen : 

“When Julian asked if I could do this I thought I just had to contribute a few hours but I later on figured out how big this event is. It was a challenge because it has never been done in this scale so it was difficult to convince sponsors to come on board etc. One of my dreams was to source locally so that we could generate an income within the country itself. We have enough talents here. Whatever you do it should be done in a way that would fulfil another person’s life. It’s really been amazing in terms of touching those people’s life and it also gives them a target to achieve. It’s not only about the athletes; we also have local suppliers who will exhibit their products. While we develop the athletes it’s also about developing the infrastructure and giving a hand for these suppliers. We started working since last December and started pulling everything together.” – Upeka Wickramaratne

“Jaguar Land Rover is super excited to be a part of this event because it goes in line with what our vehicle stands for. It embodies adventure, spirit and going across terrains. Ironman 70.3 involves cycling, running and swimming and basically everything that our vehicle can do. The two new products that we have are the Range Rover Plug-In hybrids; we have the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover. We have introduced an eco-friendly concept while keeping the lifestyle aspect intact. We want our customers to participate and be a part of the brand.” – Tasneem Siddique, Marketing and CRM Manager – Jaguar Land Rover

“I’m not a swimmer, a cyclist or a runner, but I’m giving it a try. I joined an online training programme and was basically my own coach. It’s all about trying.”- Kath Moore, one of the senior participants

“This is the first time I am participating in an event like this. I have been training since last November and looking forward to the event. Running is new for me but I’m used to cycling and swimming” – Shashi, visually-impaired participant

"The volunteers have been specifically briefed on their roles. On 25th we have 500+ volunteers on the course; some at the swimming course, the bike course and the running course in addition to the transitions, recovery rooms etc. The team leaders have a team that they work with. Specific training has been given by the course directors. We didn't call out for individual volunteers but we reached out to organizations such as Rotaract. We had the initial discussions and then went on to phase-by-phase training." - Musab and Andrea 

"Sports tourism today when it comes to destinations has got very competitive.  Nations, particularly in Asia, have opened up even places like Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Therefore it's important that we remain focused and see how we find niche products and new ways promoting the destination, moving away from the traditional times. If you look at world tourism it's going at a slower rate but in that segment sports tourism is a huge market. Working with world-class brands certainly helps us to place ourselves globally. With Ironman South Asia is an unknown name and we are glad to have it happening here." - Sutheash Balasubramanium, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau 

Pics by Waruna Wanniarachchi