Kona Iron III Championship, Miao Hao won the men's age group championship from 30 to 34 years old. Photo provided by the interviewee
Triathlon , including swimming, cycling, and running. According to different distances, it can be divided into standard iron, half-range large iron, and large iron, which are the ultimate tests of athletes' speed, endurance and willpower. In previous international competitions, Chinese players did not achieve many good results. In 2022, Miao Hao, the first professional Iron Triathlon player, made history one after another, allowing the world to re-recognize the Chinese Iron Triathlon.
html On May 8, Spain, in the IRONMAN (Big Iron) Mallorca Station competition, Miao Hao won the third place with a time of 8 hours, 29 minutes and 56 seconds, and set a new Asian record for Big Iron. On October 9, in Hawaii, USA, the 2022 Kona World III Championship ended. Miao Hao won the men's age group championship from 30 to 34 in 8 hours, 41 minutes and 11 seconds, creating the best results for Chinese players in this event.triathlon sub-event
swim 1.5 km bicycle 40 km running 10 km
swim 1.9 km bicycle 90 km running 21.1 km
3. IRONMAN event (large iron)
swim 3.8 km bicycle 180 km Running 42.195 kilometers
This is just the first two major iron races of Miao Hao's career. He almost raised China Railway Third to a new height with his own strength. On October 10, Miao Hao, who is far away in Hawaii, accepted an exclusive interview with the Beijing News reporter. He talked about his outstanding achievements in the past five months. He was very modest. "I have only participated in two major iron competitions so far. I have been learning and exploring in training and competitions, and there are still many things to improve. I hope to be down-to-earth and complete every goal set step by step."
Consuming the dream
reversed and won the top spot in the age group, setting the best score for Chinese athletes
For all Iron-third athletes and enthusiasts, participating in the Iron-third World Championships held on Kona Island, Hawaii is the ultimate dream, and Miao Hao is no exception. He has practiced triathlon for more than 15 years, and during this period he transformed from a professional team athlete to a professional player, the 34-year-old finally realized his dream a few days ago.
htmlOn October 1, when all Chinese people began to celebrate the National Day holiday, Miao Hao bid farewell to his family and friends, set out from Beijing, and embarked on the World Championships journey.It is not easy to participate in the competition abroad. Miao Hao needs to quickly adjust the time difference. The Iron and Three bicycles need to be checked separately and failed to arrive at the competition site at the same time. After finally starting to adapt to local training, problems such as bicycle tire blowouts continue to arise. He couldn't get used to the local food, so he and his coach could only go to the supermarket to buy ingredients and return to their residence to cook.
overcomes various difficulties in a short time and adjusts the competition status. Miao Hao stepped on the track of Kona Island in the early morning of October 9, Beijing time, challenging 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of bicycles and 42.195 kilometers of running in turn. This long race was more difficult than Miao Hao imagined, especially bicycles and running. The wind on Kona Island was very strong that day, and there was almost no cover along the track. As the race progressed, the temperature became higher and higher.
Miao Hao is in the 180km bicycle race . Photo provided by the respondent
Miao Hao belongs to the age group of men aged 30 to 34. It took 52 minutes and 23 seconds to swim and 4 hours, 41 minutes and 49 seconds to bike, all of which are among the top few in the age group. But he didn't know the rankings for most of the time during the race. It was not until the beginning of the running event that the coach next to the track told Miao Hao: "There are 6 people in front of you, which is about 13 minutes behind the first place in the age group."
For Miao Hao, who is determined to stand on the podium, the competitive situation at that time was not particularly favorable. Fortunately, the coach brought good news, "Your pace is faster than everyone in front." Miao Hao then felt at a loss, "I heard the coach's words, and I felt very confident that I could catch up with all the players in the top ranking in the age group."
42.195 kilometers full marathon, Miao Hao narrowed the gap with the players in front of him step by step, surpassing one competitor after another. During the running, he was full of confidence and said to the coach, "I can see if I can make a big one this time."In the end, Miao Hao got what he wanted and successfully reversed in the last few kilometers, becoming the first athlete to cross the finish line in the same age group.
Miao Hao not only became the champion of the age group, but also created the best results for Chinese athletes in the Kona Iron III Championship. Excited is inevitable, but Miao Hao quickly calmed down, "I suffered a certain impact and challenge during the competition. I was quite satisfied with the results and basically achieved my goal. As you step down the podium, all your achievements and honors will be zero. "
Miao Hao achieved a reversal in the marathon. Photo provided by the interviewee
History
Iron and Third National Championship, transformed for 3 years and embarked on the big iron track
For the first big iron competition in his career, Miao Hao prepared for 3 years. If participating in the Kona Iron and Third World Championship is a dream, Miao Hao's dream pursuit journey lasted 15 years or even longer.
was born in 1988. Miao Hao's earliest sports event when he was a child was swimming, from interest classes to amateur sports schools, and then to the Hebei Provincial Swimming Team. He once It is the national first-class athlete of in swimming. By chance, Miao Hao came into contact with the triathlon and joined the Bayi triathlon team. Although he had experienced countless injuries and had a trough, he also won the national championship. During the
professional team, Miao Hao participated in mostly triathlon competitions with standard distances in the Olympics. In 2018, he retired from the professional team, gave up the stable work of the government and units, and transformed into China's first professional triathlon player in 2019, and the focus of training and participation shifted to long distances. Shortly after the transformation of
, Miao Hao made great achievements in the 70.3-mile half-iron competition. 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 (half-range big iron) Liuzhou station, he became the first Chinese player to break through 4 hours in this event. In 2020, he once again set his personal best results and set the Asian record for half-range big iron at that time.
is different from professional athletes. Professional third-level players rely on themselves for their own income, and their income depends on competition bonuses and sponsors. Training requires finding a coach by themselves, and their training plans and daily diet and nutrition must be controlled by themselves. In the past three years, most competitions have been postponed or cancelled. In order to prepare for the first big iron competition, Miao Hao's training has encountered many difficulties. The distance and difficulty of the
competition doubled, and Miao Hao's daily training time naturally also increased, and the training content focuses more on aerobic exercise. Miao Hao's weekly training time is basically 22 hours About 4 to 5 hours of swimming, the running time is relatively small, and the proportion of bicycle training is the largest.
Miao Hao’s training location is in Beijing. Due to various factors, he will go to the nearest swimming pool when conditions permit. Running training is to travel back and forth on a straight river near his residence, and bicycle training is mainly at home, and he practices on the cycling platform for several hours.
Miao Hao is very grateful that he has rich professional team experience. He not only accumulates a lot of scientific training knowledge, but also learns the will of never giving up and perseverance. He is very grateful for the support of his coach, family and friends. With the help and encouragement of the people around him, he persisted from the long and boring training and achieved outstanding results in the two major iron competitions this year. "With them, I would not be able to train with peace of mind and finish the race smoothly. "
The encouragement and support of the family are the motivation for Miao Hao to persevere. Photo/Miao Hao Weibo
power
The family is the biggest motivation, and the "newcomer" always maintains an enterprising spirit
Whether it is setting a big Asian record in Spain in May this year, or the podium of the Kona World Championships in Hawaii, what Miao Hao cares about most is always the family in Beijing Miao Hao bluntly stated that his family was the "driver" for his persistence in participating in the Iron-Third Project. Whenever he encountered difficulties, his wife and son were his greatest motivation.
Miao Hao met his wife Xing Xiaomei in 2012. At that time, Miao Hao was still a professional team player and Xing Xiaomei was a reporter. After establishing a romantic relationship, with Miao Hao's support and encouragement, Xing Xiaomei also began to participate in the Iron-Third Sports, and participated in the competition for the first time in 2015, and gradually became the best among amateur players. In 2017, IRONMAN The 70.3 World Championships were successfully completed.
In 2018, the two entered the marriage hall and soon welcomed their son "Little Bread".Before going to the Kona Iron III Championships, the 3-year-old Xiaobread actually didn't understand what a triathlon was. He cheered Miao Hao in a tender voice, "Dad, you can." Although Xing Xiaomei did not go to Hawaii together, she kept communicating with the front before and during the game, and had almost no rest for nearly 40 hours.
"During the competition, I encountered many problems and challenges. But I remember what my son said before setting off and repeatedly told myself that I can. Family is really the biggest motivation for me to persevere." Miao Hao said.
Before, Dang Qi, Li Pengcheng and other Iron-Third players had created the best results for Chinese players in international competitions many times. Now, the outside world's attention is gradually focusing on Miao Hao, but he himself is very modest. "What I have to give myself is to always be humble. This is just my second big iron game. I am still the 'newcomer' in this event."
In Miao Hao's view, there are many areas that need to be improved. After experiencing two highest-level iron races and competing with the world's top three players, he realized that there is still a certain gap in cycling and running events. Next, Miao Hao will summarize the competition experience with the coach, and through continuous learning, we will explore more scientific training methods, "Always be enterprising."
For the development of triathlon in China, Miao Hao hopes to practice it and encourage and help more people participate in it in his spare time. "For friends who want to get in touch with Iron Triathlon, teach them some experience and take fewer detours. The more people participate, the Chinese athletes' grades will get better and better, and the overall level will get higher and higher."
Beijing News reporter Xu Bangyin
Editor Wang Chunqiu
Proofreading Liu Jun
