As a kid, Vinolee Ramalingam won several medals in sporting events in high school. But she had to let go her passion for sports to focus on her studies in college. After completing her degree, she ended up teaching at a private college and moved to Chennai after marriage. Years later, she saw an ad about a swimming event which rekindled her passion for sports. She started swimming and registered herself for a triathlon event scheduled three months later.
A year later, she went on to win medals at the half and full Ironman events in Chennai and Hyderabad, after which she decided to quit her job and train full-time for international triathlon events.
In September 2017, she participated in Ironman events in Barcelona which she completed in just under 15 hours. The 33-year-old mother of one participated and finished her second Ironman event in Italy a few weeks later, thereby becoming the first woman from Tamil Nadu to finish two Ironman triathlon races.
Organized by World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), Ironman triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races that are widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. They involve 180 km of cycling, 42 km of running and 3.8 km of swimming.
Vinolee is now training to qualify for the Ironman World Championship held annually in Hawaii.
