‘SUPER’ KERAN COMPLETES IRONMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA

MBABANE – She is a super woman.

That is Keran Hemmingsson, who completed the Standard Bank Ironman Africa Championship in Nelson Mandela on Saturday. She finished the course that comprised 3.8km swimming, 180km cycling and 42.2km running. She finishes the whole course in 15:03 hours, while the whole event had a time of 16:45 hours. Winner of the event was Kyle Buckingham. He won on the Port Elizabeth beachfront to win locking a time of 08:12:59 hours. Keran shared this interview. Why did you join the Ironman? Keran: My journey to ironman began in April 2017, when I had to cancel running comrades after falling ill. I wanted to do a challenge that would take me out of my comfort zone. I had already done two comrades ultra-marathons, two oceans ultra-marathon and a number of marathons and cycling races, as well. Since I knew how to run and cycle, I needed to learn how to swim to be able to do all three. Not many people do triathlons in Swaziland and ironman for that matter, so I would have to do this all alone.

How did you prepare for Ironman? Keran: I joined a training club known as MPG that generated my programme according to my strength and abilities. I joined the Swimlab under the guidance of Welcome Nhlabatsi and my running club Manzini Striders assisted with the running and I cycled with my partner and brother. The training consisted of weekly swimming, running and cycling. As part of getting ready, I participated in South African cycling races and also did the half Ironman, which is the 70.3 Ironman in East London in January 2018, in which I did 7:44 hours swimming for 1.9km cycling 90km and running 21.1km.

How was race day? Keran: On April 15 at the Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth, I was the only  individual from Swaziland who joined over 2 000 people to accomplish something and prove that anything is possible. ‘‘I was able to swim 3.8km in 1:41hours cut off was 2:20 hours. The 180.1km cycle was a challenge as Port Elizabeth is a very windy place and had to push hard to get through the winds. I managed it in 8:05hours, with a cut off of 8:20 hours. As I am also a runner, the marathon was awesome and besides, I had the medal in the bag I managed to finish it in 4:56 hours with a cut off of 6:30 hours. The whole event had a time of 16:45 hours to finish all three disciplines. I finished the race in 15:03 hours and I earned the title

What did you learn from this? Keran: From this I learnt that anything is possible. Ironman requires focus and discipline. I had a goal and through my family and friends I was able to achieve it. I hope to inspire someone out there to reach for their dreams and not let anyone tell them they can’t. Why settle for easy when extraordinary lies ahead. The Standard Bank Ironman African Championship takes place in Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay and this year South African Kyle Buckingham won the male category in 8:13 hours and Great Britain’s Lucy Charles won the female category in 8:56 hours

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