Nashik Police Commissioner Ravinderkumar Singhal has successfully completed the Ironman Triathlon in France. The set of long-distance triathlon, consist of a gruelling series of physical challenges that require a lot of strength and endurance to complete. Singhal has managed to complete the triathlon that includes three challenging feats – a 3.86km swim, a 180.25km bicycle ride and a 26.22 mile marathon – which have to be completed in quick successions without a break. Prior to Singhal, former model Milind Soman had completed the triathlon in 2015. Major VD Dogra had completed the feat in July, becoming the only General in the world to have competed for the event. Here's looking at all the glorious moments for athletes of India on 15th August.

It’s important to note that Singhal managed to finish the feat in 15 hours and 13 minutes against the time limit of 17 hours, according to his trainer Dr Mustafa Topiwala.

What is The Ironman Triathlon?

Ironman Triathlon is a series of physical challenges organised by the World Triathlon Corporation. Named as one of the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world, the Ironman Triathlon starts at 7:00 am with the swimming event finishing at 9:20 am (2 hours 20 minutes), bike ride at 5:30 pm (8 hours 10 minutes) and the marathon at 12 midnight (6:30 minutes). Anyone who completes all the three events in the given time limit is conferred the title of Ironman. Forget finishing the event within the stipulated time, just completing the triathlon is a feat in itself.

The story of how the event came about is quite interesting. During the 1977 O’ahu Perimeter Relay, members were debating who was the fittest – the swimmers or runners. The US Navy Commander John Collins commented that cyclists were the fittest of them all due to the oxygen uptake. So the ideal test of fitness should be the one that combines swimming, running and cycling together. The first Ironman Race was held in February 1978 in Hawaii.

Here are some mind-blowing facts about one of the world’s toughest one-day endurance events.

1. You Can’t Use Any Form of Locomotion Except…

Participants of the event can’t use any other form of locomotion apart from running, swimming and crawling.

2. The Race is Non-Stop

One of the conditions of the race is that participants should finish it without stopping for anything…and we mean ANYTHING. Cyclists aren’t allowed to alight from their bicycles to pee and often urinate while cycling.

3. Record Holders

The longest-standing record in the triathlon history has been that of Mark Allen who finished his feat in 2:40:04 in 1989. Junko Murakami’s record of 9:59:46 has been unbeaten also since 1989.

4. Youngest Ironman Was 14 Years Old And The Oldest Was 75

The youngest Ironman was 14-year-old Rodkey Faust from Idaho, USA who finished the challenge in 1982. The oldest person to complete it was 75-year-old Jim Ward who successfully finished the challenge in 1992.

5. Professionals And Amateurs Compete Together

The triathlon doesn’t differentiate between a professional triathlete and an amateur. The race course for both is the same, giving both types of athletes an opportunity to come together.

6. Extreme Weight Loss During The Event

According to some accounts, participants lose four percent of their body weight during the championship.

7. Athletes Shave Their Bodies

Triathletes are known to shave their bodies for the event. It was believed that this helped them move faster with lesser resistance, which may be true in the case of swimmers and runners. But for cyclists, a hairless body reduces the risk of treating wounds without much complications and to make massages easier.

Before Ravinderkumar Singhal, Major Dogra and Milind Soman, numerous other Indians have also successfully completed the event. Arunaabh Shah, Akshay Samel, Deepak Raj, Hiren Patel and Kaustubh Radkar are some Indians who accomplished the feat in the past. Solonie Pathania also joined the ranks of many female athletes who completed the difficult feat within the time frame.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2018 07:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).