LANGKAWI, 13 Dec 2017:
Langkawi athlete Lim Chee Yong, 17, became the sole Malaysian to qualify for the Ironman World Championship endurance race in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October next year.
Ironman Malaysia managing director C. G. Lim said Chee Yong qualified after finishing third in his age group at Ironman Malaysia Langkawi last month.
“It is a history of sorts as this is the first time a Langkawi-born athlete qualified for the prestigious world championship scheduled on 13 Oct 2018,” he said after an appreciation dinner for volunteers of Ironman Malaysia Langkawi last night.
Langkawi Development Authority chief executive officer, Datuk Azizan Noordin said Chee Yong’s success had paid off the efforts of the island in hosting the international triathlon event since 2014.
“This is one of the positive impacts out of playing host to this high-end international sports event, which generated about RM32 million in revenue for the local community and not less than RM13 million in media value this year.”
– Bernama