[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/","headline":"The 21-year-old Singaporean who attempted an Ironman as his first triathlon","name":"The 21-year-old Singaporean who attempted an Ironman as his first triathlon","description":"Around the 19th kilometre of the marathon \u2014 six and a half hours into the race \u2014 Evan Wong felt a side stitch sharpen into something he could no longer run through. He walked. Tried to run. Walked again. In his head, the race was slipping away. Then, somewhere between aid stations, he tried something [&hellip;]","datePublished":"2026-05-11","dateModified":"2026-05-11","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/thgadmin\/#Person","name":"Admin","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/thgadmin\/","identifier":387,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/075917bf6a275cdb95c2a215c54f3aa283948bad6401a6e6432b7984a3b2d3e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/075917bf6a275cdb95c2a215c54f3aa283948bad6401a6e6432b7984a3b2d3e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-1920-x-1080-px-V1-1.png","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-1920-x-1080-px-V1-1.png","height":1080,"width":1920},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/","commentCount":"3747","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-07-31 19:02:00","description":"Build, trade, and conquer in The Bustling World https:\/\/thebustlingworld.surge.sh","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Keely Powers","url":"https:\/\/thebustlingworld.surge.sh"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-07-31 17:58:48","description":"cheap viagra: <a href=\"http:\/\/medmennews.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow ugc\">Sildenafil 100mg price<\/a> - 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Tried to run. Walked again. In his head, the race was slipping away.Then, somewhere between aid stations, he tried something almost absurdly simple: he asked for a bag of ice, pressed it against the spot under his ribs that had been folding him in half, and started running again.Within minutes, the pain eased.Looking back, the 21-year-old says the only thing he would change about his entire race is using the ice pack earlier.Wong finished VNG Ironman Vietnam 2026 in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 21 seconds \u2014 third in the men\u2019s 18\u201324 age group, and 171st overall in a full-distance field of more than 700 finishers.He is from Bedok. He works part-time as a teacher. He trained without a coach because he could not afford one. And the Ironman in Da Nang on 10 May was the first triathlon he had ever entered.Vietnam\u2019s first full-distance Ironman, held alongside the 10th edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Da Nang, drew more than 4,700 entrants across race week \u2014 the largest triathlon festival ever held in Vietnam, and the largest IRONMAN race week in Southeast Asia.Most competitors spend years progressing through shorter races first.Wong skipped the ladder entirely.Evan Wong begins the swim leg at Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)Skipping the ladderThe idea took shape after he completed last year\u2019s Sydney Marathon. Looking for another challenge around May or June, he landed on Da Nang: close to Singapore, relatively affordable, and logistically manageable for travelling with a bicycle.He signed up.Most coaches would advise first-time triathletes to begin with a 70.3 \u2014 the half-distance Ironman. Wong did not see the point.His view was simple: race-day performance depends on preparation, not previous medals.Training began in January. The first two months focused on base fitness \u2014 getting comfortable on the bike, in the pool, and adapting to the training volume an Ironman requires.From March onwards, he ramped up to roughly 20 hours a week.A long ride on Saturdays. A long run on Sundays. Eventually, brick sessions: long rides followed immediately by shorter runs, before another long run the next morning.No rest days.He built the programme himself using online videos and publicly available training advice.Three weeks before race day, he rode 170km on a Saturday, ran 10km immediately afterwards, then completed a 35km run the next morning.\u201cThat was when I knew,\u201d he says.Evan Wong on the bike leg at Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)Loops along the Coastal RoadTraining for an Ironman in Singapore requires compromise.Open-water swimming options are limited. Cycling is harder still. The island has few long, uninterrupted roads, so serious cyclists often train in loops.Wong did most of his riding along the Coastal Road \u2014 the longest continuous route he could piece together.The climate, however, helped.Singapore\u2019s heat and humidity closely resemble Da Nang\u2019s conditions, and race morning brought overcast skies and intermittent rain during the bike leg.His nutrition plan held throughout: roughly 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour, sodium supplementation, and water from aid stations when needed.\u201cI wouldn\u2019t change anything,\u201d he says.Evan Wong on the bike leg at Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)The bike was the hardest legThat assessment is surprising because the numbers suggest otherwise.Wong completed the 180km bike leg in 5:47:33, averaging just over 31km\/h. His pacing stayed remarkably steady across the ride \u2014 the sort of discipline many age-group athletes take years to develop.He moved from fourth to third in his age category during the bike leg and held that position for the rest of the race.But to Wong, none of it felt easy.About 20km into the ride, he could already feel fatigue building in his legs from the swim. He abandoned his target pace early and settled into something sustainable, reasoning that any gains made by overpushing the bike would collapse during the marathon.At around 40km, he wanted to stop.He kept riding.By 160km, he knew he would finish.He never checked his age-group position during the race. He only learned he had placed third afterwards, when his family told him.Evan Wong finishing the bike leg at Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)Halfway, then the stitchThe marathon began smoothly.For the first 18 kilometres, Wong felt stronger than he had on the bike \u2014 physically and mentally \u2014 holding a pace between roughly 5:30 and six minutes per kilometre.Then the side stitch arrived.The slowdown showed almost immediately. His pace dropped into the sevens. By kilometre 23, he was walking more than running.The ice pack came a few kilometres later.Soon after, he stabilised enough to keep moving consistently again.What Wong remembers most from that stretch is not the pain itself, but the atmosphere of an Ironman marathon deep into the day: exhausted athletes, screaming spectators, and the smell of competitors who had been racing for more than 10 hours.He crossed the finish line with what he describes as his \u201clast bit of strength\u201d, sprinting down the red carpet.The first thing he drank afterwards was a coconut-lime drink.The first thing he ate was an ice cream sandwich.Evan Wong on the run leg at Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)The honest versionAsked what he would tell another young Singaporean considering a first full Ironman, Wong does not offer the inspirational answer.\u201cI would tell them that they shouldn\u2019t do it.\u201dAnd if they insist, he says they should at least attempt a half Ironman first.The full distance, he says, is far longer than most people expect. Success depends on maintaining focus across 11 or 12 hours, where one mistake \u2014 pacing too hard, under-fuelling, ignoring pain too long \u2014 can unravel an entire day.He is equally direct about the financial cost.\u201cThe Ironman brand is extremely expensive,\u201d he says.This is not bitterness so much as clarity: a 21-year-old part-time teacher explaining exactly what the experience demanded from him, financially and physically.Evan Wong placing 3rd in the 18 to 24 age category at the Ironman Danang Vietnam (Photo source: Evan Wong)What it cost, what it was worthWong does not yet have another race confirmed, though he expects he will eventually sign up for one.He has no intention of turning professional. Endurance sport exists alongside the rest of his life, not in place of it.For readers tempted by the same challenge \u2014 with the Da Nang race set to return in 2027, alongside other Ironman events across Vietnam \u2014 Wong\u2019s debut offers a useful reminder.Not that anyone can complete a full Ironman.But that doing it well requires honesty: about preparation, limitations, money, pacing, and the small decisions that shape a race long before the finish line.At kilometre 19, Evan Wong learned that lesson through a bag of ice.RELATED: The DJI Air 3S: Redefining Aerial Creativity and SafetyJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Local","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The 21-year-old Singaporean who attempted an Ironman as his first triathlon","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/local\/the-21-year-old-singaporean-who-attempted-an-ironman-as-his-first-triathlon\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]