KAILUA-KONA — Subramani Venkatesh hails from India, home to more than 1.25 billion people. Mihai Baractaru makes his home in Romania, which boasts a population just shy of 20 million. But this week in Kona, each man is a country unto himself.
More than 2,300 athletes from 64 countries and territories across six continents will compete in the grueling endeavor of Ironman on Saturday. Some countries are represented by hundreds of competitors — the U.S., for instance, with 804 participants and Australia with 230.
Yet nearly 20 countries have qualified only a sole athlete. Two such athletes are Venkatesh and Baractaru.
Each man considers his position an honor and a responsibility, a fact highlighted Tuesday night as they marched proudly through Kailua-Kona with hundreds of fellow athletes in the Parade of Nations, waving their countries’ flags amid a sea of vibrant color.
“It makes me proud,” said Baractaru, 27, who to his knowledge became the first Romanian to ever qualify for the race last year. “Hopefully next year, I’ll come with one guy or 20 guys who have qualified to represent Romania with a bigger number.”
Venkatesh said despite being the only Indian competing in 2016, endurance sports are on the rise in his home country, and he believes the number of Ironmen and women from India will soon skyrocket. Part of the reason, he explained, is the invigorating opportunity to compete among some of the best all-around athletes in the world.
“Triathlon is already booming now in India and coming along very much for the last four years or longer. I’ve seen a lot of triathletes from India coming out and trying it out all over the world,” Venkatesh said. “The competitiveness is sometimes intimidating, but at the same time, it is encouraging you to push hard. Being with the best of competitors is a big honor for me.”
Climbing the proverbial mountain that is Ironman is less the daunting task for Venkatesh and more the privilege to test the limits of human physicality and spirit.
The 35-year-old software engineer from Bangalore, who has made his home in Boston for the last nine years, has been climbing mountains, so to speak, since he was a child. Growing up in a lower-middle class family, street games like cricket and soccer were, as he called them, his “escape.”
He’s been preparing for Ironman with specific workouts involving the core skills of running, swimming and biking for months, but as he sees it, he’s really been training for the race his entire life.
“I think it’s the way I was brought up. My family was really working hard for everything, and doing these kinds of (athletic) workouts — it’s not the biggest challenge compared to what real life teaches sometimes,” Venkatesh said. “I was always adventurous mentally, so that kind of attitude helped me to come into triathlon easily.”
For Baractaru, this week is about carrying on a torch he lit for his countrymen in 2015.
A personal trainer in his nation’s capital city of Bucharest, he hopes to improve on last year’s performance, and in doing so inspire more interest in his homeland for a sport he said has enriched his life far beyond the pleasures of physical accomplishment.
“The sport is growing in Romania, but not that fast,” he explained. “But 60 or 70 countries participating in one race — I think the toughest race in the world — it’s amazing. And the people around the island, they’re so welcoming, so friendly. I like the atmosphere, the friendship, it’s amazing.”
Both Venkatesh and Baractaru are enthralled with the culture on the Big Island, and find it a fitting backdrop for thousands of athletes from every corner of the world to unite through the commonality of sport, which has shown potential time and again to transcend the boundaries of country, race and religion.
Each man intends to remain in Hawaii for several days after completing his personal conquest, with plans to enjoy the island’s beaches, oceans and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
But for the next four days, it’s all about business. Baractaru clocked a time in last year’s World Championship of just over 10 hours. He’s intent on moving that figure into single digits, mentioning a goal of improving his time by at least 20 minutes.
Venkatesh has never participated in a triathlon under Kona’s sometimes oppressive heat and humidity. But he logged a time of just over 9 hours and 50 minutes in a full-length Ironman event held in Lake Placid, New York, back in late July.
He said he fully respects the Hawaiian climate, but if he requires any inspiration, he need take only a few steps from his hotel room out onto the now bustling thoroughfare that is Alii Drive.
“Every morning I get up and walk around (Kailua-Kona),” Venkatesh said. “I see all the athletes walking around, and it encourages me. The energy is here, in this place. I am very excited about it.”