My friend and I, whose name happens to be Santosh as well, got the notice from the Nepal triathlon team that we got enlisted in the starting position to compete in the elite level in the Long Distance Triathlon World Championship in Townsville, Australia. We received this notice on July 26th. We were waitlisted prior to that time and not sure whether we would be able to compete in the event, so much so that both of us had given up hope and started working on different events.
We both agreed to compete for the country I was born and raised in for the first 23 years of my life. We came, did the race, finished the race, got the medal and towels, but I got disqualified since I didn’t keep the buoy on my left when I was ready to exit the water coming to T1 (transition one). That’s the short story.
Now the details, competing in an elite level, we had to take the doping test and complete all the consent forms to give permission to test at any given time, we had to have a national triathlon kit, international insurance to cover the casualties that could happen in the race, a certain standard of running shoes, and had to be there for the athlete briefing and some other details which were hard for me to comprehend. In other words it was very serious, and I cannot take anything lightly.
Some of the issues we faced were, it was the first time Nepal was sending athletes to world level competition in triathlon so they didn’t have a tri kit (one or two-piece outfit worn for all three disciplines of a triathlon: swimming, cycling, and running) available to give to us. World triathlon liaisons were communicating with Nepal triathlon officials, but we were not involved nor did we receive any updates from them. We were supposed to have IDs which showed we belong to Nepal triathlon and proper ID which shows we are citizens of Nepal. My friend was able to receive the triathlon ID from Nepal and at this point we were ready to go and showed up to race the long course triathlon. The long course triathlon consists of a 3km swim, a 120km bike ride and a 30km run.
We both tried to find a tri kit that would be suitable for us and also showed colors that could represent Nepal. After a few days of searching we found a kit that could work and perhaps meet the criteria. Ideally, it was supposed to be customized based on the standards of the Nepal triathlon with our name, country name, world triathlon image and our country’s image. On an average it would take 6-8 weeks for any company to design the custom kit, but we only had two weeks to design it and make it ready for the race. Carole from our center helped me to design the logos based on the requirements, however it was getting more stressful by the minute because the attention to detail was something that only professional designers could do. I shared whatever we were able to finish in Boston with my friend in London. Our designs were not exact to the specific measurements, but it was the best we could do based on our timeline. We decided that the worst case scenario would be a time penalty for not having the right clothing, although we had some fear that they would simply deny us from racing. I could go more into detail, but I think it’s best I stop this topic here.
My friend who competed with me didn’t have a proper racing bike. I told him I would give him my triathlon base bike knowing that I was buying another second hand bike from a guy who had stopped racing. So I packed the bike for him and made it ready to ship, which had some technical issues two weeks prior to the race day. I called the company directly and they assured me that the bike parts would come on time and the bike should be ready for the race. It might be just my luck that the parts they sent to the retailer weren’t the parts needed. At this point I only had exactly one week left for them to make it ready. The mechanic was furious and assured me they would do everything to have the parts at the shop and the bike would be ready. I called them on Friday to check in, and their answer was, “The parts haven’t arrived, but it should be done by Monday.” I was leaving on Tuesday. By Sunday I didn’t get any response, and at that point I knew the bike would not be ready for Tuesday. I started looking for a rental bike in Townsville, but they were sold out and there was no other way I could have a bike for the race day except to buy a new one. Luckily, there was a bike in a different shop that was my size, and since I knew the guy from my past visits he was willing to work with me to make the bike ready for the trip. With extreme generosity from one of my clients the bike was purchased and ready at 2pm Tuesday for the flight that I was taking at 5:30pm.
I arrived in Townsville at around 8:30pm on Thursday after I connected with my friend in Melbourne. We started to put the bike together, first I set up my bike and when we started to set up my friend’s bike we could not find the saddle and saddle tube. Imagine a bike without a saddle! We started to look on the Internet to find the exact saddle tube and saddle but unfortunately nothing was a match. I was up until 1:30am trying to find a solution, and finally I saw a guy who put a bike on sale in a nearby town to where we were staying. I sent him a message explaining our situation and asked him if he would rent his bike for the weekend. He was very accommodating and happy with the price I offered. I went to bed very late and woke up fairly early because of jet lag.
We took our bikes to check the course which consists of 25 miles which we had to do three times. This is the first time I have ridden this bike; it’s a really nice bike, stiff and solid. I realized in the middle of the ride my right hand gear wasn’t responding. I was getting nervous since things were not necessarily going our way from the beginning. By the time we came back to our place it was too late for the bike to be taken to the shop. On Saturday we had to be in athlete briefings from noon to 1pm, and so I took the bike to the nearby bike station to check and see if there was something they could fix for me to make sure the gear would shift properly for Sunday – race day. The mechanic was explaining the technical issue and he told me that perhaps it’s better if I use only the bottom gear and not use the top bar gear.
We arrived just in time for the briefings. We saw a guy who came about 20 minutes late and despite his plea explaining how he came from his kid’s birthday party, he was denied from starting the race. After the briefing we went back to the bike mechanics, and at that moment it looked like the problem was fixed. But as soon as I rode my bike the shifter stopped working. It was a big puzzle, and because of the limited time before dropping the bike off it seemed hopeless, but I made up my mind to ride the bike in one gear. It’s not the best case scenario but at least it’s something. In the area where we were heading to drop the bike off, there were a few mechanics who we knew from visiting earlier to cut the saddle tube on my friend’s borrowed bike. I explained my issue with the hope that perhaps they might have a solution. Although you can ride a bike in one gear it’s really rough on your legs since you are only using the same sets of muscle groups for the entire duration, which means there will be no energy left for the running portion. They tried their own ways to fix it and gave me hope that in the morning they would come earlier to try to fix something which might be the culprit and perhaps I would ride a bike with all the gears available to me.
It had been a long day and I was ready to head back to the apartment and rest. My head was still spinning, trying to make sense of the bike and everything that was happening to us, but literally I could tell I was wasting my time.
On Sunday, Race Day, I woke up at 3:15am, stretched a bit, and I ate my breakfast of overnight oats. By the way, it’s my ritual to have overnight oats with banana and berries plus peanut butter and a cup of coffee before the race. We headed out by 5am with the plan to get to the bike station so that the mechanics could do their magic one last time. Everyone was stacking the fuel on the bike filling the hydration box and properly racking the helmet and running shoes. At 6:20am we were called to be at the starting line. It was surreal, the announcer called each of 21 elite athletes names, we lined up at the deep end of the ocean for the race to start. Once the horn blew we started to swim. This was a two loop swim consisting of 1500 meters in each loop. On the second loop as I was approaching to take the first turn one person on a kayak told me to keep the buoy on the right. However, during the briefing I remember hearing that the buoy needed to be on the left. Anyway, I kept the buoy on my right, then it was a straight swim way before turning left to finish the swim course. I kept the buoy on my right and turned to the shore, I started to run toward the bike station, and as soon as I reached my bike the referee there showed me a red card and said I didn’t keep the buoy on my left, hence I was disqualified. She said I could continue the race and finish if I wanted to. I tried to plead my case and told her about the situation, but she didn’t budge at all. I sat for a minute or two on the ground; I was mad, sad, upset and angry, however I decided to continue the race. I came all the way here, and despite the fact that it won’t be recognized, I wanted to experience the course and perhaps enjoy racing the course. I rolled my bike out of the bar and the same ref looked at me and said, “I would have taken more points from you since you didn’t put your helmet on before taking the bike.” I almost wanted to cry but instead smiled and said, “Well I have nothing more to give now.” I proceeded to come out of the transition area and hopped on my bike, the gear wasn’t working, and I started my journey to ride 70miles on one gear.
I played and replayed the whole scenario over and over throughout the ride, I couldn’t focus well nor I could enjoy the ride nor I could quit. It wasn’t hard physically, but emotionally it was really hard to stay focused, my legs were pretty beaten up by the end of the ride, I could feel the fatigue on my hamstrings and hips, however I put my bike on the rack, laced up my running shoes and got out to run. It was hot and I was sad, but I was very surprised how many volunteers knew about Nepal and some had travelled there at one point, some were trying to speak a few words in Nepali and others simply screamed “Namaste” as I passed them. It was wonderful to hear about the country I was born and raised in, and I was proud that I was playing some role for them to share their fond memories of Nepal. I finished the run, and the announcer called my name, they put the medal on me and wrapped the triathlon towel around me. As soon as I walked out of the finish line the head referee spoke to me and explained why I was disqualified. She was super nice and explained why they had to be strict, I looked at her and nodded, she gave me a hug, I am sure she saw the pain that I was in. I met my friend who was a few minutes ahead of me, we took a picture, and then sat in the shade for a bit.
We two Nepali guys were the first to represent Nepal and the first of any south Asian country to compete in the world triathlon! Although I finished the race I felt that I let my people down, and I am very sad about the day. However, I understand it’s something I have to accept and acknowledge that mistakes happen, and I have to learn from it. I hope if and when I compete on this level again I will be able to focus on the race and do it well.
I had a day in Melbourne to explore and then I headed back home to Boston on Wednesday where I resumed my life and got back to my normal rhythm and routine.
Thank you for reading this, and I am happy to answer any questions you have.
Sincerely,
Santosh Karmacharya
