S'pore triathlete Ben Khoo smashes his own national Ironman record in Hamburg
Battling the choppy waves and cold wind, Singapore triathlete Benjamin Khoo struggled at the start of the Ironman race in Hamburg, Germany, on June 1.
But the 34-year-old pushed through the swim leg in the Alster Lake, made up ground on the bicycle before completing the marathon to clock 8hr 49min 46sec. In the process, he smashed his own Singapore record of 9:02:24, set at the Ironman Copenhagen race in August 2023.
The Ironman race comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and 42km run.
Khoo, a business executive in the chemicals sector, said: "There was a thunderstorm, so the race was delayed, and we were afraid that that might affect the conditions.
"I didn't have a very good swim and the swim was longer than expected - 4km instead of 3.8km - but I was quite happy to make time on the bike.
"So I went much, much faster than I expected. And then I got off the bike, I was like, 'okay, more or less there already'.
"I just need to finish a marathon conservatively, and I will be able to break the record with quite a comfortable buffer."
Triathlon Association of Singapore president Paul Rachmadi said Khoo "delivered a monumental race".
He added: "Smashing his previous best of 9:02:24, Ben continues to redefine the limits of endurance, discipline and dedication.
"An extraordinary achievement and a powerful inspiration to the next generation of triathletes in Singapore."
In April, Khoo had also competed in the Singapore leg of the T100 triathlon series at Marina Bay, where he finished as the quickest Singaporean in the open category.
The T100 is a shorter event, with participants completing a 2km swim, 80km bike race and 18km run.
Khoo said: "The intensity of racing is higher (for the T100) and in Singapore, the course is also much more difficult, because it's hot... it requires a lot more fitness and skill, whereas the Ironman is more of a test of endurance.
"They always say that the Ironman only begins at the last 10km of the marathon, which is not true. It's a nine-hour race… But the last 40 to 50 minutes are incredibly hard. With 14km to go, my body shut down. So I couldn't run fast, couldn't take in nutrition, which was difficult.
"It was not a race against the rest of the field but a race against the clock. So I'm always checking the clock, looking at the total time."
Khoo was introduced to multi-sport racing at Raffles Institution, where he participated in adventure racing - running and cycling - as part of his Boys' Brigade co-curricular activity.
After secondary school, he dabbled in triathlon and first represented Singapore in the Under-23 category of the Asian Triathlon Championships in Taiwan in 2011.
Khoo, who holds a master of science in management science and engineering from Stanford University, said he chose the Ironman Hamburg race as it is known to be a fast course, adding: "The age group world record was set there last year, and this year the pro women world record was also set there."
Having lowered his own national record in Germany, Khoo is eyeing something else closer to home. He is hoping to be part of the national duathlon team for the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand.
"The Ironman is a nine-hour race, whereas the SEA Games format for me would be 20 minutes," he said.
"It's a real transformation of systems and I have to change from a long and slow athlete to high octane and pretty much a sprint. It will take some time to transform the body, so that will be my focus for the next six months."
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CNA938 Rewind - 3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42km run: S'pore triathlete smashes own national Ironman record
CNA938 Rewind Singapore triathlete Benjamin Khoo battled choppy waves and cold wind to beat his personal national Ironman record in Hamburg, Germany. Hairianto Diman and Susan Ng speak with the 34-year-old about his experience.
