First Cambodian triathlete finished at his first Olympic distance race

Narak Kun of Cambodia, 25years old, is former swimmer and now swimming coach in phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia. He just started triathlon training in February this year with Rowdie Loughlin, PE teacher at the international school in the Phnom Penh.

And last weekend Narak Kun competed in the Olympic distance at the Mekong Triathlon. He completed the course safely with a time of 2hrs and 19 minutes. He came in the ninth place out of the 9 male elite finishers. "We were both happy with his first race and it has given us a lot of encouragement and motivation to continue and to keep building" Rowdie Loughlin said after the race. "The Thailand federation helped supply us with 2 bikes and helmets for the race and we are very grateful to them."

Rowdie is Cambodian National Team Coach from this year. His coach career just started when he met Hem Chanly who founded Cambodian Triathlon Federation last year. "We are planning to hold a local Aquathlon event in May to recruit some talented young athletes as National team members. And we want Narak to compete in as many events as possible, but we face great difficulty to get the fund for air ticket" said Chanly.

Their next competition will be Seoul Asian Cup on May 15