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Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya highlighted Goa 'steadily becoming the sports tourism' place in the country after flagging off the fourth edition of the Ironman 70.3 at Miramar Beach in the state, on Sunday.
Additionally, Goa minister Govind Gawde, and former tennis player Leander Paes were also present at the flagging-off ceremony. Ironman is a triathalon event which comprises of swimming (1.9 km), biking (90km), and running (21.1), with the participants traveling upto 113 kilometers (or 70.3 miles) during the whole event. "Goa is hosting the Ironman 70.3 for the fourth consecutive year. This event is considered to be the peak of endurance fitness. More than 1500 athletes are participating in this event today. The Prime Minister has given the vision of a fit India. Our country being a young nation, it is very important to be a fit nation as well," he told ANI. The BJP MP added further that people from all over the world come to these events to participate, and credits Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for encouraging such events. "Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant has been greatly supportive of these kinds of events and every year there are multiple events that attract a lot of the athletes around the country. Even today more than 25 countries are being represented by athletes here. So its amazing and its only going to grow," he said. Notably, former tennis player Leander Paes highlighted how athletes are an inspiration to everyone. "It is so inspiring to see all these athletes come from all over the world and participate here today, as you can see, the swimmers are out (at the starting line)...Once they (athletes) finish the swimming course, they will go for the cycling course, then to the running course. The fastest time last year was around 4 hr 19 mins...To see the inspiration and the passion that the athletes have to test their physical, mental, and emotional power is really wonderful to see," he told ANI. He further highlighted the importance of such events in promoting sports and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. "Events like Ironman 70.3 are very important for our nation as everyone supports the athletes. It is very important to see the communities support sports as we want a healthy community and sports include everybody, people from different cultures, languages, religions and castes all come out through sport and participate. It is also important to showcase our state, the beautiful beaches, the oceanfront" ,he added. (ANI)
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