Yatim vows to return stronger.
KOTA KINABALU(Sept 23): Veteran triathlete Yatim Zainal Abidin has vowed to return even stronger and better prepared for the Challenge-Family The Championship race next year.
Yatim suffered a disappointing debut in the world middle distance triathlon race held at Samorin, Slovakia in August where he was forced to retire early due to the force of Mother Nature.
“I have decided to try and qualify for the next edition of The Championship race.
“My plan is to take part in the The Challenge Shepparton triathlon in Victoria, Australia in April next year in order to make the cut,” he said.
Yatim put weight to his claim by saying he was ready to return to training very soon having taken and passed his Electrocardiogram (ECG) test on Wednesday.
“I will return to training soon…taking part in The Championship last August has been a very valuable experience for me.
“If I’m able to qualify again next year, I’m sure I will be better prepared and much stronger to complete the race,” added Yatim who has just completed a 14-day quarantine period upon his arrival from Europe on September 4.
Recalling his maiden participation in last August debut race, the 46-year-old athlete admitted it has not been an easy first competition in Europe for him.
While he had conducted consistent training since qualifying for the race in November 2019, he admitted there were some setbacks, including in the transportation of his equipment and race bike.
“I had only a week to train properly (in Samorin) because my equipment arrived only one week after.
“Despite the obstacles I was still confident of having a good race…may be complete the race and even gets placing in my age-group.
“In fact I believe I could have done better at least in terms of my overall time.
“However, the weather had not been great as it actually rained one day before the actual race and the temperature dropped dramatically,” he recalled.
Yatim went on to say that he knew he was in trouble as soon as he jumped into the water for the swimming leg of the race where the freezing water was a shock to his body system.
“I trained at the same venue several days earlier and I had no problem finishing the distance but on race day, the temperature was way below 20 degree Celsius…I was also not aware my swimsuit was not suitable for such condition.
“I tried my best but after 30 minutes I raised my hand…I just could not take it anymore,” he said while claiming to have seen many more participants struggle in the windy condition.
He said it took him around one hour to recover from the cold and be able to stand up and walk again to receive further medical attention after pulling out early in the race.