When The Buoy Dunked An Ironman

Four broken ribs during the bike crash in Ironman NZ in March 2025. No workouts for six weeks.

Injured knees, due to over work. Laid off for another six weeks.

Despite such debilitating injuries, Ankush kept up his morale and competed in the Ironman on 23rd Aug 2025 at Tallinn Estonia. He not only competed but finished the race improving his previous timing. Details below.

Ironman NZ: 1st March 2025. 15h 57min 40 sec. Bib No. 793

Ironman Tallinn: 23rd Aug 2025. 15h 41 min 31 sec. Bib No. 645

But is wasn't a cake walk. He got dunked under a marker buoy! What? Then what happened? Read on.

Screenshot of the Ironman Tracker app after Ankush completed the race.

This demonstrates the power of human mind. His swim timing yesterday was slower by 18 minutes. He had an injured knee. But he kept going. We can't reach him at the time of writing as he has to recoup the energy in the area reserved for the athletes. No cell phones. But we asked him how did he do it?

As a family, our thrill knew no bounds. Sharing below the snapshots of our WA chat.

[03:35, 24/08/2025] Harsh Bhargava in USA: @ANKUSH ,

Superb going!

Just 4kms to go.

I know your knee is hurting, but you have demonstrated the power of human mind and spirit.

Well done Son!

So proud of you 👏

[03:58, 24/08/2025] Ashi in USA: You got this Ankush! Last 2.5 kms. Amazing!!!!!

[04:05, 24/08/2025] Harsh Bhargava: Never mind Son.

I can see you are walking the last 2 kms in pain. But you are nearly there. May be faster than your previous best of 15h 57minutes! (Ed: And he did it!)

Go Son go!👏

[04:08, 24/08/2025] Ashi: Wow!!!

[04:08, 24/08/2025] Ashi: Congratulations Ankush!!!!

[04:08, 24/08/2025] Ashi: 👏👏👏👏

[04:08, 24/08/2025] Ankur: Amazing 👏👏👏👏

[04:09, 24/08/2025] Harsh Bhargava: Bravo Son 👏👏

[04:31, 24/08/2025] Prabhjoth in Chennai India: Done! Yay

From the above time stamp you can see that the race started on 23rd and ended on 24th Aug. Ironman needs not just training for endurance and stamina but also perseverance and determination. Ankush has proven it many times over. You may browse his story of the 1st Ironman, injuries before and the bike crash during the race.

Ankush Does IT - The Ironman - story of grit and determination backed by passionate zeal.

What is Ironman

You may browse our story linked below

Ironman New Zealand A Curtain Raiser - Get a feel of the Ironman preparations, venue and the race.

Coming back to Ironman Tallinn, Ankush shared that the swim start where due to hundreds of swimmers cramming for space and excessive turbulence, he got disoriented. In addition, the water was freezing cold. Sharing below Ankush's post a few hours after race completion:

[05:55, 24/08/2025] ANKUSH in Tallinn Estonia: Nah, the knee held up...minor pain from 21st km onwards so I slowed down to conserve. Else a pretty decent run. 5h30 for a post 180 bike...I was happy with that.

[05:57, 24/08/2025] ANKUSH: Swim was a disaster...the cold just froze me...I couldn't settle at all in the first 1900m lap. Took help of the kayaks to hold and rest. Plus I can't adjust to hundreds of swimmers. The second lap...I was left behind and it was so peaceful. Did that leg non stop

[05:59, 24/08/2025] ANKUSH: That grit and all came during the swim. Twice they asked me if I want to abort...I was barely able to move....dig deep into all the prep that went into all this

[05:59, 24/08/2025] Harsh Bhargava: Super 👍

[06:00, 24/08/2025] ANKUSH: My glasses fogged up...couldn't even figure out where to sight the buoys....was swimming all over the place.

Thereafter, when we spoke he revealed that due to disorientation, he nearly collided with the marker Buoy. As a result, he went under water and the buoy wouldn't let him surface as if something was holding him down. After a while, which seemed eons, he popped up and gasped for fresh air. Once he regained his composure, he swam the remaining 1.9 kms in less than 50 minutes. Only five swimmers were left to complete the swim. The swim cut off of 2h 20 minutes lurked in his mind. But he made to the swim finish line in 2h 04 min. Swim to bike transition took 18 minutes. Removing the skin tight wet suit took time.

The Medal

Here is a picture of the engraved medal awarded after completing the Ironman well within the stipulated time. Congratulations Ankush again.

See the video shot by Saif, his companion. Ankush can be seen at the bike transition i.e. changing from the wet suit to the  biking gear. Tallinn was so cold that the race had to be deferred by more than three hours!

There were close to 70 participants from India for the Ironman and 70.3 (the half Ironman) events. Ankush met up with a few of them. See the picture below with a fitness celebrity couple:

On the same day another story was unfolding in India. Ankush's wife Prabs and daughter Anuva were participating in the Chennai Marathon. They both completed their respective sections. See the pictures below. A true adventure loving family.

We thank all the readers for their congratulatory messages, mails and calls. Your blessings and support did it!

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from Ankush Bhargava/ Tallinn and California/ 24th Aug 2025

#Ironman #Grit #Determination #Triathlon #Perseverance #endurancesport #NeverEverGiveUp #Tallinn #Estonia #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Ankush Does It! The Ironman

"Ankush Bhargava You Are An Ironman" blasted the speaker over and above the loud music at the Finish Line of Ironman New Zealand 2025 (IMNZ-2025) at Taupo! The sweetest six words ever! It couldn't have been more thrilling than this.

"Well done, well done, Son! Superb," is all I could say! He completed the gruelling Ironman 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2 km run in 15 hours 57 minutes! No mean feat. See the short video clip below.

By the time I could hop across the spectators area near the finish line, the medal ceremony was over. You can see Ankush being escorted by a volunteer (yellow tee shirt) after receiving the medal.

We had visited the finisher's ramp a day before. But Ankush refused to pose for a picture on the red carpet in advance saying he will take a picture only after finishing the Ironman. Single minded focus and humility, would you say? See the daylight pictures below:

Ankush is now an Ironman!

Two years of even more gruelling workouts and practice (and missing out on an event in Talin in 2024 due to visa challenges). 5AM onwards every day. Even earlier on the weekends.

Every week, 150-200 kms of swim, bike, run besides strength training. All this along with his job and parenting tasks (his spouse Prabs has been away setting up her venture in Hyderabad). That is Ankush for you at 46 years of young age!

After the finish, his reaction: "It was a different experience" with teary eyes!

Starting the swim at 8 am in Lake Taupo,  he crossed the finish line three minutes before mid night! Most of us can't even walk for 16 hours at a stretch leave alone swim, bike and run consecutively! But Ironman athletes are a tougher variety. They keep going.

Near Miss

Ironman (IM) athletes don't give up even after accidents or injuries. Of course, IM athletes receive God's blessings for their persistent hard work. As the Hindi couplet by Sant Kabir Das goes:

जा को राखे साइयां मार सकै ना कोए  

बाल न बांका कर सकै जो जग बैरी होए 

Roughly translated it means that one who is sheltered by God, can not be harmed in any way even if the whole world goes against him. We are grateful to God for sheltering and protecting Ankush from all harms. Sharing few incidents both before and after the IM event.

Hit by a Motorbike in Chennai

While preparing for the Ironman, Ankush was doing a long ride on the East Coast Road in Chennai on a Sunday morning. He does it regularly to build up endurance. One day a group of motor-bikers were overtaking him. One of them who was doing a wheely, crashed his motorbike on Ankush. He got injured with a hole on his elbow. He lay bleeding on the road and was helped by a rider passing by. Later my grandson Ansh brought him home. The injury meant loss of few months of workouts. The wound took few months to heal (still healing 8 months after the accident!). God only saved him. But it also gave the ladies in the family an opportunity to dissuade Ankush from participating in such 'dangerous' sport. I had to step in and convince everyone that accidents can happen anywhere. Therefore, we must let Ankush continue. 

The Night Before IM

Like any athlete before a major competition, Ankush too had anxiety the night before the race. After an early dinner, both of us hit the bed. After two hours of tossing and turning, Ankush woke me up saying he can't sleep. During Ironman Malaysia too he couldn't sleep the whole night. Result- he couldn't finish the race. Sleep is most important before a day long endurance event like this.

I tried calming him down and also gave one tab each of Dolo and Citrazine. Prayers to God also helped. He managed to catch 4.5 hrs of sleep. Ready to go the next morning.

So, for a Dad there is never a dull moment. 

Swimmer's Kick on the Face

Mass start of the swim in deep waters is a melee. During the transition briefing a day before, it was cautioned 'Keep clear of the crowd during the start. You don't want to be in a washing machine with 1000 swimmers!' That is precisely what happened with Ankush. He got an accidental kick on his face during the start. It dazzled him. He was gasping for air and gulped some water. Still disoriented, it took him a while to regain his composure. Result: He went off track and lost a couple of minutes in the starting itself!

Sharing a few pictures of Haka, the Maori dancers who came in a boat and Ankush swimming at a distance.

Zoom the picture below to spot him swimming in the lake.

Swim Tracker Halts

We came to know of his 'deadly' start of the swim later. However, more drama was unfolding earlier. After about an hour of the swim, Ankush's tracker stopped on IMNZ App. It didn't move at all for next 20 minutes or so. A stationary tracker signifies a race abort due to injury etc. Such unpleasant thoughts started flooding our mind. Prabs and Ashi too observed it in India and USA respectively. I then rang up IMNZ number which was busy. Sent an email requesting them to confirm all was well. By then more than 30 minutes had elapsed. Another call. The person answered saying sometimes the tracker chip worn by the athlete may have got stuck or malfunctioned. Still we requested him to check with the teams at the swim site. After a minute or so he called back to confirm that none of the athletes appeared stuck or otherwise. The tracker was still stuck close to the finish line for 40 minutes now. I requested him to once again confirm that all was well with Bib No. 793. After two  minutes we saw the tracker moving magically. Same time he called back to confirm that Ankush was nearing the swim exit and moving towards bike transition. Similar confirmation came on email. It was such a big relief. We all know that we should remain positive at all times, but at such junctures negative thoughts sprout like giant mushrooms and cloud our thinking. We appreciate the prompt response of IMNZ teams.

Bike Crash

Ankush was riding the bike steadily through the countryside. In his words, "The countryside is so beautiful with hundreds of cows in adjoining fields. One cow spotted me and all others turned their faces together. It gave its call 'Baunn baunn' as if saying 'all the best' to me". As announced earlier, at any Aid Station, the riders could discharge their gel packets, bottles and other trash in wide trash bins while riding. While discharging an empty water bottle and other trash with one hand, he lost balance and tumbled near the 57th km ais station. He crashed on the road. With bruised right thigh, left rib cage and a cracked carbon handle bar, he was moved by the volunteers to the Aid Station. Equipped with a para-medic, bike mechanic and IM Staff they said "We can't allow you to continue the race with a cracked handle bar." Mercifully the para medic cleared him. With Ankush's reasoning that he will be riding more on the aero bars and not on the handle bar, they agreed for him to continue the race. But his handle bar was taped up around the crack. He lost 15 minutes or so. Our IM tracker app showed no movement. But we did not know that he had a crash. Once again, God saved him. He pressed on. No pictures of the crash, just memories! Once again God saved him from being severely injured and being aborted from the race.

As he crossed at 84km spot, where I used to sit and cheer him, he did say 'Had a crash'! Couldn't record it but a second later as he whizzed past, I asked the volunteer whether he was aware of any crash uphill. He said he also heard the biker say it. Then he added "But he looked fine" and I nodded. We let it be. See the last part of the video clip below.

What Ankush's Son Said

[01/03, 22:54 New Zealand time] Ansh Bhargava (Final year of undergrad in Chennai): Crazy man he is, I slept woke up, ate, ran a 5k, played tennis, slept again and he's still at it😭😭

[01/03, 22:54] Ansh Bhargava: Insane

[01/03, 22:57] Harsh Bhargava (Grand dad in New Zealand with Ankush): Not insane, but passionate 👍

[01/03, 23:00] Ansh Bhargava: Insanely passionate!!

The Medal

A metallic medal so beautifully designed was awarded to all IMNZ25 finishers within the cut off time of 17 hours. The medal could be engraved with the name and time taken by the Ironman for swim, bike and run. See the pictures of the medal of both sides. First picture is taken against the blue sky, a characteristic of Taupo and New Zealand.

Few more pictures and video clips as I cheered him during the bike and run.

Different coloured bands were given to each runner after completion of a lap of 10.5 kms each. Nice way to identify. Now Anuva our grand daughter gets to keep the bands.

Video clip of bike cheering.

Two clips of cheering during the run. Ankush's running shoes in two different colours became popular with the locals. watch the video.

Run penultimate lap. He was tired but maintained the steady pace to complete the marathon in 5:46h.

And the last 100 meters of his marathon. He kept up the pace. See a short clip shot just before midnight in Taupo.

We all in the family are so thrilled on Ankush's achievement.  He has made us all proud.

On a personal front, it was a challenging outing for me. My brother who had been operated for cancer developed sepsis and was in critical condition when I left Jaipur on 20th Feb. He passed away while I was in New Zealand. I could neither perform his last rites nor attend the Tiye ki Baithak (3rd day rituals after the demise) in Jaipur. But my presence here in New Zealand and Ankush's success as an Ironman, gave me some kind of solace. Thank you God for giving me the strength to cope with the situation.

Those of you wanting to know more about Ironman, please browse our curtain raiser linked below:

Ironman New Zealand 2025 - A Curtain Raiser

Before we close, a special round of applause for the entire org team of IMNZ-2025 including the volunteers and the people of Taupo who came in large numbers to cheer the bikers and the runners. They had pitched their tents with chairs, barbecue and all, to cheer the runners along the lake, late into the night on Saturday 1st March.

Hail Taupo and hail New Zealand.

To give our readers a taste of New Zealand, its unpolluted environment, picturesque country side and well kept parks, given below are the links to our other stories on NZ:

Huka Falls - Crystal Blue Waters

Public Park in Taupo - Caring for the Children

Aerial Photography - New Zealand coastline

Ironman New Zealand 2025 - A Curtain Raiser

Ankush Is An Ironman - Story of Grit and Daring despite a bike crash

Lake Taupo - Why is it so Iconic

Rock Paintings - Recreating Maori Art

Harnessing Geo-thermal Energy - Geo-Thermal Park at Taupo

Thanks for browsing

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Ankush Bhargava/ Taupo/ 2nd March 2025

#IronMan #NewZealand #Taupo #LakeTaupo #IMNZ2025 #AnkushBhargava #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Ironman In The Family

Ironman in the family? Yes! Not the iron man of Sardar Patel kind, but with similar achievements of strength, endurance and commitment.

Our son Ankush completed his first Ironman 70.3 race recently. Ghumakkad is delighted to share Ankush's story in his own words. But before that for the lay reader few questions.

What is Ironman 70.3

According to Wikipedia, "An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Swim bike run- in that order in one continuous stretch. If you complete it in less than 8.5 hours, you qualify for the Championship race for that year. 

Where is the Race Held

Ironman 70.3 race is held in almost 100 venues around the world. But in India, there is only one venue- Goa. This year's race in Goa had more than 1300 participants with 800+ as individuals and the balance as relay. In the relay segment, which is non-competitive, each segment of swim, bike and run is done by different competitors.

Coaching

Ironman competition requires coaching and dedicated practice and preparation which may take one year or more. Ankush toiled hard close to a year to build his stamina and endurance for the gruelling race. Most big cities in India have coaches for Ironman.

Entrance Fees

According to Ironman website the entry fee ranges from $613 to $974 depending upon the location. So, it is an expensive sport. But the thrill and self-belief of completing an Ironman outweighs it all.

Now, no further talking by us, let us hear it from Ankush directly. His picture story follows.

In case you are unable to browse the above embedded video link, you may click the Swim Start Video link.

In case you are unable to browse the above embedded video links, you may click the two links here: Bike Transition Video-1 and Bike Transition Video-2 .

In case you are unable to browse the above embedded video link, you may click the Bike Flyby Video here.

In case you are unable to browse the above embedded video link, you may click the Run Video here.

In case you are unable to browse the above embedded video link, you may click the Race Finish Video shot by Prabs, our daughter-in-law.

Here is a picture of the race completion display showing Ankush's time:

Anuva, our nine-year-old grand daughter also took part in a race for the kids called 'IronKids'. Sharing a picture and a video:

Anuva competed in the age group of 9-12 year-old-kids. Most kids were elder to her. Even then she came 9th out of 41 girls and 26th out of 100 boys and girls in her age group. Well done Anuva. Like father like daughter! Willing to go the extra mile in life!

Hope you all enjoyed Ankush's picture story.

We all in the family felt so proud of his achievement. God bless Ankush and may he compete in more IMs in future.

Thanks for browsing.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Ankush Bhargava/ 23rd Nov 2022

#ironman #halftriathlon #swimbikerun #70.3 #ironman70.3goa #endurance #passion #stamina #nevergiveup #keepgoing #ankushbhargava #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #ironkids #anuva