The biggest tri challenge is the swim leg, most triathletes would say. How is it any different for a swimmer like you?
I used to stay in the water—it’s cooling! But now, the weather is killing me. On a more serious note, coming from a zero-impact sport, the challenge of the hard surface was tough for me. So, it’s very easy to get injured in running, especially with flat feet like mine.
How has triathlon changed your training routine?
Crossing over to triathlon was not a simple transition. As a swimmer, you want to swim, you hate to swim, you still have to swim. Injured? You still come back to swimming. In triathlon, you cannot run? Never mind, you can bike. You cannot swim? Never mind, you can run and bike. There’s always a way to maintain your fitness and not simply rest.
Walk us through your day. How do you balance academics and athletics?
Training on three disciplines and studying for two classes are far from easy. I could not take my time and study. I have to make time for it. My day starts at 4.45am and ends at 10pm packed with two or all three disciplines and my classes in between. It’s tough, but I have to be tougher.
What does a female triathlete beginner need to know before starting?
She must develop some stable swimming skills. Being comfortable in the open water presents very real fears. In the swimming pool, there’s a line for you to see. In the open water, you have to find the marker correctly. You couldn’t just simply put down your head and swim. In a race, sometimes, when you get a lot of people swimming together, you get scared to get kicked. You could not see the person’s leg in front of you. Yes, I got my own share of kicks, too.
What would you be doing if you had chosen another path?
Most probably, I would have finished my studies. Now, I think I’m oldest in class, and I got two more years to complete. Then, after I finished studying, I would have been working as a swimming instructor. I want to teach kids how to swim. But now, I’m putting triathlon as my top priority. Maybe until 2020, I’ll go 100% at it. Or perhaps, two years from now, I would teach part-time.
What’s next for you this year?
I’ll be representing Malaysia in the upcoming SEA Games in June! The Xterra Malaysia this May has yet to be confirmed. Beyond that, I’m looking forward to taking up International Triathlon Union races.
The little girl who was blowing bubbles in her first swimming pool grew up becoming the young woman who knows what she wants. From holding her breath and continuously smiling in front of the judges to getting her first bicycle, seeking out sponsorships on her own, and diving head first into the deep sea of many other possibilities, Irene Chong learned the art of persistence one stroke at a time. In the 2014 Port Dickson International Triathlon, she emerged as the overall champion among an impressive field of professional elites from different countries.
“When I think about triathletes like Kimbeley Yap when she joined SEA Games, I knew that in this sport, there’s a big game waiting for me. I just have to train for it and fight for it!” We knew then that this young woman, in her wearable haircut and shy smile, would raise the flag higher in the triathlon scene for women and the entire country.
