Tejasvi Surya, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bengaluru South constituency, became the first parliamentarian to complete an Ironman Relay Challenge on Sunday, riding 90 kilometres at the Ironman 70.3 in Goa.
Surya competed in the Ironman 70.3 with civil servant Shreyas Hosur and entrepreneur Aniket Jain as part of Team New India, promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India Movement. While Hosur first swam the 1.9 km swimming leg, Surya cycled 90 km for the event’s second leg, followed by Aniket Jain’s 21.1 km half marathon.
‘PM Narendra Modi-led government has given a significant amount of stress on sports and fitness,’ Surya said.
He further said, ‘The Ironman 70.3 challenge is a platform that tests our endurance and pushes us to maintain good health and fitness consistently. More and more young people are inspired to take up sports and fitness as a career and such events give them a platform to showcase their talent.’
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched the challenge. Around 1,500 young men and women from 33 countries took part in the event.
It was the first time any MP took on and finished an Ironman challenge, which is a true test of human endurance, grit, and physical strength.
‘Glad to have completed a personal achievement today,’ Surya said after the event. ‘It was physically quite challenging as I was coming off recovering from a fever and I was not at my full fitness level. That said, I took it up as a challenge and did my part for Team New India.’
‘While completing an Ironman competition was something that can be crossed from one’s bucket list, the bigger message for the younger generation is to inculcate a healthy lifestyle. I urge other young people to also maintain a healthy lifestyle in whatever way possible – be it taking a long walk, running, doing yoga, the gym or playing a sport,’ he added.
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