Esther conquers fear, claims triathlon title on home soil

New Straits Times

19-07-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: : National triathlete Esther Joy stole the show at the World Triathlon Development Regional Cup on Saturday, delivering a dramatic comeback to clinch the women's title on home soil — her second international triumph in just two months.
Racing in front of a supportive local crowd at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in Kampar, the 22-year-old overcame her biggest fear — the swim — before powering through the bike and producing a storming final surge on the run to snatch a memorable victory.
"I'm quite happy. My fear has always been the swim, so I've been training a lot on it," said Esther, who clocked 1:07:18s to beat Indonesia's Renata Berliana Aditya (1:07:36) and Singapore's Herlene Natasha Yu (1:08:01).
"Although we don't have many open-water places to train in Malaysia, I've just been swimming a lot in general. The bike was as good as it could get — four of us on the bike trying to drop each other — and I just tried my best to hold the gap.
"I really didn't expect to catch anybody on the run. I was just happy to catch the first person. Then the crowd kept shouting 'one more!' and I had the shock of my life when I came back and was first!"
Saturday's win added to her recent gold at the Southeast Asia Triathlon Federation Championships in Lumut last month, and marked her final international outing before the SEA Games in December, where she hopes to earn national selection.
In the men's race, Isaac Tan reinforced his status as Malaysia's top male triathlete by emerging as the fastest home finisher, placing 12th overall in 1:01:29.
However, the 20-year-old admitted to feeling disappointed after falling short of expectations, especially after his victory at the World Triathlon Development Regional Cup in Tam Chuc, Vietnam in April.
"I feel it's a five out of ten," said Isaac.
"Particularly didn't do well on the bike. The swim and the run were good. Timing-wise, I'm not sure if I'm happy or not, but the effort is important. Anyway, we're going to continue to buckle up strong.
"It was a lot different than in Vietnam. There were a lot of strong competitors here, especially the Koreans. I'm still not sure what will be my next race, but I'm going to prepare well for the SEA Games."
Indeed, South Korea were a dominant force in Kampar, sweeping the men's podium through Kim Seong-sik (58:09), Choi Gyu-seo (58:15) and Jeong Woo Sik (58:22), while also topping the junior women's race through Park Seo-eun (1:06:11).
"We decided to bring a large team this time because many of our junior athletes are already familiar with this event — some of them raced here last year as well," said South Korea manager Mok Lee.
"Our focus is on giving our athletes as many opportunities as possible to compete in international events like this. The more experience they gain, the better their performances will become.
"Korea last qualified a triathlete for the Olympics in 2012. Since then, we've been working hard to grow our talent pool so that we can return to the Olympic stage."
RESULTS
World Triathlon Development Regional Cup
Men: 1. Kim Seong-sik (Kor) 58:09s, 2. Choi Gyu-seo (Kor) 58:15, Jeong Woo Sik (Kor) 58:22;
Best Malaysian: 12. Isaac Tan 1:01:29.
Women: 1. Esther Joy (Mas) 1:07:18, 2. Renata Berliana Aditya (Ina) 1:07:36, 3. Herlene Natasha
Yu (Sgp) 1:08:01.
Asia Triathlon Junior Cup
Men: 1. Ramazan Ainegov (Kaz) 58:46, 2. Seymur Anthony Caglayan (Tur) 58:56, 3. Yelmurat Kanay
(Kaz) 59:02;
Best Malaysian: 19. Yap Qi Yi 1:01:37.
Women: 1. Park Seo-eun (Kor) 1:06:11, 2. Kayla Nadia Shafa (Ina) 1:06:22, 3. Diana Biktimirova (Uzb)
1:07:16;
Best Malaysian: 21. Koh Pao Yee 1:21:03.