EXCLUSIVE| Saiyami Kher on compeleting the Ironman race: Finishing the triathlon has always been on my bucket list FilmyMeet

Saiyami Kher was recently in Berlin to compete in the toughest triathlon in the world: Ironman Race, which was held in September. She created history by becoming the first Bollywood female actor to participate and complete the said Ironman 70.3, which includes a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, and a 21.1 km run, all completed back-to-back without breaks. 

The actor tells us that she realised the feat much later. “For eight hours, I was doing the activities continuously, so I didn’t realise anything during that time. And in general also, I am not a very expressive person. But after completing it, there was a lot of happiness and excitement. It’s something I have dreamt of for a very long time. It takes time to sink in, because there are so many first timers who don’t even finish the race,” Kher opens up.

“It’s always been on my bucket list. I’ve been running marathons for years and the next step was to do the Ironman. I was prepared to do it but this dream got pushed because of COVID, so I was really happy that I finally managed to do it,” the 32-year-old further adds.

Also Read: Saiyami Kher recalls the ordeal of losing her luggage before Ironman Race: Mentally, it was exhausting

The actor shares that the biggest challenge was to “manage shooting for 12-14 hours along with training.” “I started training in February and initially I used to get tired after running for 3 kms and swimming 50 m. After that, I was absolutely diligent and 6 months after that were very disciplined,” she tells us, and continues, “I used to be so tired after the shoot, hence I used to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and train before going for the shoot. I know the challenges I’ve had. If you’re trained well, the race is not a problem, so it was important.”

Kher exclaims that the triathlon is actually a “test of your physical endurance.” “It makes me a stronger person mentally. When I do sports, I know it’s in my control. For me, it always helps my mental health when I do sports. It clears my mind and makes me a more confident person. I am able to use that confidence in my acting career as well as it makes me a much more stable and secure human being. You start believing in yourself much more and it’s a very important factor as an actor,” she concludes, mentioning how sports contributes to her acting profession as well.