52-year-old Surat’s athletic champ, Yezdi Noshir Dapotawala, continues serving as an inspiration, on having completed the extreme endurance event – the second international Ironman 70.3, which took place in Bahrain, on 8^th December, 2023. Known for his physical agility and fitness, Dapotawala competed alongside a total of 1,100 participants from across 77 countries, with about 60 from India.

Considered the most gruelling yet rewarding race on the planet, this endurance triathlon sport comprised covering a total distance of 113 miles – consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) ‘Swim’; a 56-mile (90 km) ‘Cycling or Bike-ride’, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) ‘Run’. Yezdi put in months of heavy preparation to complete the ‘Bahrain Ironman 70.3’ with a noteworthy finish time of 7 hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds, spent thus: Swimming – 53 minutes; Bike / Cycling – 3 hours, 29 minutes; and Running – 2 hours and 52 minutes.

Doing the community proud with his ‘Bawa Power’, Yezdi shared with Parsi Times, “I’m thrilled to have been able to do it again! This has been one of the best days of my life – I was quite overwhelmed emotionally, as I approached the finish line – I had tears streaming down my face and an immense sense of satisfaction and joy. It was like all those months of hard training and discipling coming to this one precious moment, which made it all worth it!”

A passionate athlete since childhood, Yezdi has participated in and won numerous endurance competitions across local, national and international platforms. For those looking to take part in this extreme endurance sport, he advises, “Almost anyone can do an ironman if they work hard, stay disciplined and focused on a smart training plan. One could start with finishing a half ironman race as well, with the right training.”

He is now preparing for the next full Ironman which will be held in Kazakhstan in the end of June 2024. Heartiest congratulations to Yezdi on doing the community and the nation proud and for proving that age, is indeed, just a number! Here’s wishing him the very best for his next Ironman and many more such inspirational accomplishments!