Female 'Iron Man' Lam Tuc Ngan tells the story of conquering Ironman across 5 continents

Ironman, as the name suggests, is a competition for "iron men", testing physical strength, flexibility, endurance and will. Participating and completing all 3 events is a remarkable achievement, not to mention the ranking.

Journey to become 'iron man'

Lam Tuc Ngan's path to triathlon began with a competition at her company and winning an award. She shared that in that competition, she thought it was her last because it was quite hard. She even found it a bit boring having to run for hours.

“ But after completing it, I discovered my own abilities. I thought I could do more, ” Lam Tuc Ngan excitedly recalled that important milestone. From small-scale achievements, Lam Tuc Ngan continued her long journey and asserted herself with increasingly higher achievements.

Over the years, she has competed in Ironman 70.3 races, which include a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run.

In 2019, Tuc Ngan registered for Ironman Philippines 140.6 - a full Ironman race with a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and 42.2 km run. However, this registration made Tuc Ngan feel disappointed at times as she had to wait for the tournament to be postponed; overcoming difficulties, worries and many disadvantages because the competition took place during the stressful time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Female 'Iron Man' Lam Tuc Ngan tells the story of conquering Ironman across 5 continents - 1

Lam Tuc Ngan - "The first Vietnamese to conquer Ironman & Ironman 70.3 across 5 continents"

After successfully registering for the competition, she threw herself into months of rigorous training to prepare for this journey. However, when she was at the peak of her performance, the Covid-19 outbreak caused the tournament in the Philippines to be postponed.

Plans had to change, and the days of practice were filled with anticipation and disappointment.

It was not until mid-February 2022 that Lam Tuc Ngan received notice from the organizing committee that foreign athletes were allowed to participate.

The competition was scheduled for early March, leaving her with only two weeks to prepare. At that time, Tuc Ngan also had Covid-19 and was in the process of regaining her fitness.

Determined not to miss the opportunity, Lam Tuc Ngan tried to arrange her work, complete procedures from plane tickets, accommodation in the Philippines in the fastest time to be present at the competition that she had waited for for 3 years.

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Lam Tuc Ngan's performance.

Getting to the competition was difficult, but competing was even more challenging. During the competition, she was kicked in the face by the swimmer in front of her, so she had to stop to adjust her goggles.

After the incident, Lam Tuc Ngan's eyes were exposed to seawater, making it difficult for her to cycle. Her eyes were blurred by the bright sunlight and hurt from the constant wind. Halfway through the race, Lam Tuc Ngan decided to change her strategy. She needed to maintain her strength to finish the race. She stopped by the medical station and had her sore eye bandaged to reduce direct sunlight and also to maintain her endurance, cycling 180 km continuously for more than 7 hours.

During the final 42.2 km run, Lam Tuc Ngan had to close both eyes while running because the remaining eye was also "exhausted".

Only near the finish line did Lam Tuc Ngan remove her eye patch to take a photo at the finish line. With a time of 15 hours 23 minutes 58 seconds, Tuc Ngan entered the top 8 women.

In the 25-29 age group, she was the only one competing due to Covid-19 causing some athletes to withdraw, or some to move up to a higher age group. Lam Tuc Ngan achieved her goal of winning a ticket to the Ironman World Championship.

By the end of 2023, Lam Tuc Ngan will become the first and youngest Vietnamese person to successfully conquer Ironman & Ironman 70.3 across 5 continents.

Passion is not enough

In reality, running, cycling, and swimming are not enough to complete the Ironman triathlon. This limit-defying sport is not just about passion.

Training for triathlon requires seriousness, where participants cannot just talk about passion without calculation. This is an investment problem. The challenge of endurance is not only for the athlete himself but first and foremost for… their wallet.

“The time and money - for equipment and clothing - to pursue this sport is huge. I am lucky to have always had the support of my family, company, and friends in the community from the very beginning,” Lam Tuc Ngan shared.

"This sport of challenging limits is not just about passion"

An Ironman registration ticket costs around $900. The biggest tournament is the Ironman World Championship, where the entry fee that athletes must pay after winning a spot is over $1,500 (around 36 million VND).

However, to be able to participate in the world championship, athletes are required to participate in other Ironman tournaments in the system and compete for a spot, which means multiplying the "900 USD" many times.

That’s not even the most expensive part of pursuing an Ironman. French professional athlete Clement Vanacker says he spends about $5,000 a year on equipment for training and competing. A full set of triathlete’s “toolkit” can cost nearly $20,000 if it’s the best.

For Lam Tuc Ngan, when participating in international competitions, she also has to spend on travel, accommodation, and visa. Airfare from Vietnam to Europe and America is of course not cheap. Covering all these expenses by herself - not just once, not once, not once, but for many years - is probably a bit "heavy".

Lam Tuc Ngan often solicits sponsorship from brands. Sometimes she also has to advance money from family and friends to invest first, and pay it back later. Ngan sees it as an investment in a project, these amounts need to be calculated reasonably, since investment is a matter of profit.

Lam Tuc Ngan confided: “Determining that being an athlete is a career, I have to calculate the cost optimization problem. The cost I spend to invest in myself to compete is considered an investment, then the brands that cooperate will be the 'break-even' and then the profit. The break-even point will be estimated reasonably to minimize risks. Passion is one thing, but when it can bring economic benefits, it can help me maintain it for a long time.”

Having solved the problem of money to jump into the “Iron Man” game, the next thing to undergo the endurance test is… the nervous system! Ironman is not just a story of physical strength. To push yourself to the limit of endurance in a competition and pursue this sport for many years, you must have a “spirit of steel”.

Mind games

Ironman is not a sport that anyone can jump into with just passion and slogans. The “Ironmen” may be just amateurs, but the way they “play” this sport is not like that.

“For me, triathlon is a mental game with myself. To play it, I have to understand everything about myself,” Lam Tuc Ngan shared.

“People often misunderstand me as a professional athlete, but I'm not. I'm just a casual player, but the way I 'play' is quite professional.”

“Playing” triathlons as a hobby is not easy, even harder than for professionals. They are alone, without a team, and have to calculate more than just rushing into a challenge of physical limits.

There is a skill that is rarely mentioned in sports competitions but in the case of people like Lam Tuc Ngan, it plays a significant role. That is the skill of… management.

Balancing personal life with training and investing in the game requires a lot of focus and seriousness, which is not a simple matter.

“I am the type of person who always makes plans and backup plans so that I don't fall into a passive situation.”

“A strong will is an important factor in overcoming difficulties, but it is not always enough to solve every situation. In sport, careful preparation, physical training, skill development, focus and planning play a very important role. That is something I want to be clear about with the triathlon community so that they are not misled by the slogans.”

The emphasis on passion and inspirational stories is somewhat of a downside to building a movement in sports.

Those slogans are only effective in the initial and familiarization stages. For those who are deep into the game and start setting themselves goals and increasing challenges, rushing in instinctively without calculation is a huge mistake.

That is the message that Lam Tuc Ngan - who puts himself in the role of a pioneer - wants to convey to the community.

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“Everyone must know what they have and where they are. For example, to have a starting point, it takes two to three years, and there must be a foundation to determine the starting point before you can build. The milestone of conquering the 5-continent Ironman is a step forward for everyone to understand that Vietnamese people living in Vietnam, accessing Vietnamese nutrition and education, can still win international awards. If I can do it, everyone can do it, as long as you have the right strategy, and when competing, you must choose the right competition to gain strength. Currently, I know that everyone has started to know how to choose a competition so that next year they can qualify for the world championship.”

The triathlon community in Vietnam is not yet well developed and has not made much of an impression at international competitions. The female athlete born in 1994 is a rare Vietnamese face appearing at international Ironman competitions.
In September 2023, Lam Tuc Ngan completed her goal of conquering Ironman in 5 continents. The 29-year-old girl does not consider it a personal milestone.
“ Looking back at world tournaments, I was the only one carrying the Vietnamese flag. Last year, Vu Phuong Thanh (the first Vietnamese to win the international ultra-triathlon) joined. The two sisters went together and supported each other, which was a lot of fun. For me, this is not only a personal achievement but also a way to unite our compatriots and show the image of our country in the international community ,” Lam Tuc Ngan shared.

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