Ironman upgrade

From 2012 to 2013, Li competed in a dozen standard triathlons-each comprising a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, and a 10 km run.

In 2014, however, he decided to push himself to that next, grueling stage and he signed up for his first Ironman race in Langkawi, Malaysia. The sections were of a distance he had never reached in training.

"It was a challenge for me, but what surprised me was the hot weather there, which I had never experienced," remembers Li, who overcame the blazing sun and won first place in his age group. That victory earned him his ticket to the following year's Ironman race in Kona.

"That was also the first time I got to wrap the national flag around my shoulders at the finish line, and it felt like I was a hero-like I was writing history," he says. "Ordinary people like me rarely have a chance to win honors for our country, but in that moment, when you hear the audience cheering for you, and they know you are from China, you feel nothing but pride."

Li didn't cry while he enjoyed the moment, but after the race, when he recalled all of the preparation and the tough conditions he endured during the race, he gave in to his emotions.

Despite that first attempt in Kona not going his way-his energy ran out in the middle of the marathon, and he had to half walk and half run to the end, taking more than 10 hours to reach the finish line-he made the most of the experience.

"I was inexperienced during that race, but what is unforgettable was the atmosphere," Li says. "You get to see all the best triathlon equipment that, at the time, I had only read about online, and I had the opportunity to meet the world's top triathletes and learn from them-Kona is a paradise for triathlon lovers."

What Li didn't expect when he returned the following year to Langkawi to earn his second ticket to Kona, was that the weather would be even hotter and his competitors even stronger.

"That's the only race where the thought of giving up crossed my mind," he says. "Whether you ride or run, you feel like the sun is burning your back and the ground is reflecting that heat."

He didn't give up, even though he could only run slowly. "I kept telling myself to hold on, and I would speed up a little when I would see a supply point up ahead of me."

Swimming is Li's weakness, but running is his strength. Li was far behind his closest competitor in water, but he managed to pass him in the middle of the marathon to claim victory in his category once more.

"That athlete's record was much better than mine," Li says. "I didn't think I had a chance, but luckily he was also affected by the hot weather, but I seemed to endure it better."