Testing his mettle

Li Pengcheng is creating a buzz after setting a China record at the 40th Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, Li Yingxue reports. 

It had rained the day before the race. "On your marks!" came the order. As the crack of the starter's pistol broke the tension, the temperature was around 21 degrees, and there was breeze on the beach-it was the most perfect day to race in the event's 40-year history.

With the report of the gun still ringing in his ears, Li Pengcheng, also known as Buzz, along with more than 2,500 competitors, jumped into the water-9 hours 10 minutes and 36 seconds later, he crossed the finish line as the first Asian athlete.

It was the 40th Ironman World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, in the United States, and Li's fourth consecutive time competing on the world stage. In doing so, he established the record in an Ironman race for an athlete in China.

Inaugurated in 1978, the Ironman World Championship is a long-distance triathlon race organized by the World Triathlon Corp, comprising a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bicycle ride and a full marathon (42.195 km).

It's the holy grail for all triathletes, and so it is for Li. When he started to train for triathlons in 2011, he set a target to compete at the Kona race within five years. He qualified for Kona in 2015, but back then, the 20-year-old didn't anticipate his career as an Ironman triathlete would go so far.