The 53-year-old Hungarian ironman who swam, cycled and ran for 222 hours and won

Ferenc Szőnyi even got injured, but finally, he managed to win the DECAMANUSA New Orleans 2018, a kind of ironman contest containing 10 ultra-triathlons. Thus, he had to swim more than 38 kilometres, cycle 1,800 kilometres and run 420 kilometres. After crossing the finish line, he said that it was great to do so with the Hungarian flag.

Sports career started at the age of 43

It is quite unusual to start a sports career that late, but Mr Szőnyi did so, and he was successful already at the beginning: he won his first world championship ten years ago in Mexico. Since then, he has already run by the Darjeeling memorial of Sándor Kőrösi-Csoma, the Hungarian philologist, Orientalist and the author of the first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book. That time he

accomplished 480 km of run in the Himalaya successfully.

Last time he won the gold medal in Switzerland on a contest including five ultra-triathlons. As a result, he is the only one in the world who won all kinds of triathlon.

RTL Klub managed to talk to him after his latest triumph in New Orleans, USA – szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu reported. He told the TV channel that the unusual cold baulked accomplishing the contest and he even got injured on his left leg. However, he was delighted that he was successful.

Eat and drink almost constantly!

He said that he has a kind of talent because of which ordinary people think that he is a UFO. “It is very good to win; it is very good to cross the finish line with a Hungarian flag in another part of the world. This is a very special and honourable skill life gave me.” – he emphasised to RTL Klub.

He added that many contestants gave up during the contest, but he had planned everything, and even though he had to make some minor changes because of the cold weather, he was finally successful. He said that during such contests athletes only allow themselves rapid periods of sleep, for 1.5-2 hours, and they have to eat and drink constantly to avoid dehydration and total exhaustion. He also told that

instead of lying in a bed,

he travels and tries to explore New Orleans and its surroundings. Of course, he eats and drinks a lot and takes care of himself, because a contest like this takes out a lot.

Featured image: Ferenc Szőnyi wins in Mexico in 2010. Photo: facebook.com/szonyiferenc

Source: szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu