Purpose Magazine

10 questions with Andy Wibowo, Overall Champion 2022 Ironman Malaysia

It was a very long two years that many in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southeast Asia kept waiting for Ironman Malaysia to happen again. Albeit not as crowded with participants this year as in the past, the recently concluded 2022 Ironman Malaysia did not disappoint. The calibre of competitors was definitely top-notch, with several local and international athletes winning categories in their age categories. However, one of the winners of this race stood out above the rest – Andy Wibowo, from Indonesia. 

Ruth Cataran: “I don’t feel anything bouncing or jiggling.”

What caught Ruth Cutaran’s eye were the vibrant colours and designs of our trisuits during the 113 Desaru Triathlon back in 2018. “PURPOSE designs are cool and they look different from what I normally wear. I particularly love my PRO performance mesh trisuit. The fit is really good and snug which I like,” said the 29-year-old radiographer. “It compresses my body just right and I don’t feel anything bouncing or jiggling. The trisuit fits taut and is very comfortable just how I like it.” Ruth started doing duathlons first, towards the end of 2018, before she picked up triathlons in...

Sean Parish: From accompanying a friend to doing his first Ironman

The initial intention was not to take part in triathlons, but to accompany his friend for her first sprint triathlon. “Three years ago, I never considered doing triathlons. I was accompanying my friend on her open water swims, bike rides and runs,” said Sean Parish. “It then got to a point where I realised since I was doing all the training, I might as well enter the race myself. So I did and I enjoyed it so much that I upgraded all my equipment, got a coach to help me create a formal training plan and went on to do...

Dayang Syahida: Despite having scoliosis, her goal is to complete an Ironman

Seven years ago, with no experience in triathlon, Dayang Syahida (@dayangcha) told a friend that she will complete an Ironman triathlon in 10 years. The 31-year-old civil servant completed her first ever triathlon in 2019 and through the encouragement and much support from her friends, her respect for the sport grew even more. Being diagnosed with scoliosis eight years ago, Dayang’s main priority is to stay active and physically healthy, but this does not stop her from challenging herself. “Keeping active is the only way I could prevent myself from having to endure back pain that worsens whenever I’m in...

Pete Farnsworth: Purpose-built for this climate

Pete Farnsworth started out as an avid cyclist, mostly doing mountain biking on the trails. His first brush with triathlon was when he did the bike leg for a team relay at a triathlon race in Singapore. About the same time, his son was born and he had less time to travel for his mountain biking adventures. Thus, he started doing more runs and road rides, which quickly morphed into an addiction for triathlon. “I started taking it more seriously and then signed up with COS Coaching to learn how to train properly,” the 42-year-old regional director of customer experience...

Martin Choo: Cycling has always been a constant in life

Cycling has always been a constant for Martin Choo, providing him with direction and being the activity that helps to clear his head and reflect on life. A big part of his life since he was a kid, the 43-year-old used to cycle to school from the age of 13 all the way through to university. Then when he was living in California, he got a road bike for his birthday and went on to do triathlons, as well as race as an amateur cyclist. Thus it was no surprise when Martin moved to Singapore in 2012 and started his...

Kelly Pereira: Triathlons helped her to overcome anxiety and focus in life

Feeling lost in life, Kelly Pereira struggled to find a focus.⁠ “Being on the bigger side didn’t help and I didn’t have much self-worth,” the 38-year-old jobs skills analyst said.⁠Nine years ago, Kelly was diagnosed with diabetes and four years ago, with gastroparesis. Already feeling that the world was against her, her diagnosis alleviated an anxiety that had already been bubbling beneath the surface. At that very moment, Kelly realised the only way to overcome them was to change her lifestyle. During this time a friend who evolved into a mentor introduced her to triathlons, something she wanted to try...

Richard Farren & Sophie King: One year to turn pro

People are getting retrenched and losing their jobs. People are turning to alternative sources of income, like starting home-based baking businesses. It is a strange time, one that brings uncertainty, but also courage. Richard Farren and Sophie King chose this exact period to chase their dreams. The goal is to turn professional in triathlon in a year’s time. In August, they left their lives in Singapore behind and moved to the United Kingdom to start their #oneyeartogopro journey. “We are living the dream,” said Richard, who was the country head of ProActiv Sports in Singapore before they left. “Don’t get...

Inspired by two worlds. Designer Sue Kay talks about the ideas behind the 20/21 Series

Clad in skin-tight Lycra and punishing themselves in the heat. That’s what most people see when they watch a triathlon race. Not for the creative mind that Sue Kay has. With a mind that thinks in pictures, Sue associated the sport of triathletes to amphibians when she was spectating her first Ironman 70.3 race six years ago. It amazed her, just “how fast and swift they move from one environment to the other; almost without thinking, almost second nature.” That thought stayed in Sue’s mind thus when it came to designing PURPOSE’s 20/21 collection of new trisuits and cycling kits,...

PURPOSE Ambassador: Fitri Tasfiah

To recover from her shin splint injuries two years ago, Fitri Tasfiah was out of running for a while. It was during this time that she picked up swimming as part of her rehabilitation. In early 2018, she slowly started to run again but she could only manage 5km. That was when her friend suggested she try a triathlon so she could do swimming and cycling as well, instead of just focusing on running. Hence, the 34-year-old yoga teacher, host and blogger signed up for the TriBuddies Anniversary Triathlon that was for beginners. “I only had two weeks to prepare...

PURPOSE Ambassador: Dedy Bunyamin

For someone who thought doing an Ironman race would be impossible for him, Dedy Bunyamin has completed five full distance Ironman races (including the recent Ironman Malaysia) and nine Ironman 70.3 races in the last five years. “A good friend of mine started doing Ironman first and I slowly picked up an interest as I found that it is boring to just cycle. Then I was influenced by this friend who managed to complete an Ironman even though he wasn’t sporty,” said the 49-year-old business owner. Similar to our ambassador Hilda Novianti, Dedy’s first triathlon was a sprint triathlon in...

PURPOSE Ambassador: Hilda Novianti

Four years ago, Hilda Novianti picked up running after the birth of her second child. A friend of hers, Riyo Hanggoro, then invited her to try a mini-triathlon event held by Triathlon Buddies Indonesia, the largest triathlon community in Indonesia, in 2017. Through this community, she was introduced to the sport more and learnt how to swim in the open water, how to do transition and more. Her first triathlon race was in Sungailiat, Bangka, Indonesia in April 2017. Sungailiat is known for its calm waters, hence being friendly for first-timers, and the road is smooth for cycling too. Hilda...

PURPOSE Ambassador: Lucky Bagus Waskito

One morning in 2017, Lucky Bagus Waskito could not get out of bed because of severe pain in his lower back. After consulting five doctors, one of them finally found the cause – this was a subsequent effect of his knee injury eight years ago. “I competed in the Indonesian Collegiate Basketball League in 2009 and during one of the games, I got hit by a player from the other team. My right knee got twisted badly and I tore my meniscus. I did physiotherapy for nine months after, but I guess the old injury came back to haunt me,”...

Kona-bound: Claire Walton

Claire Walton is just arriving in Kailua-Kona for a third consecutive year for the prestigious Ironman World Championship. The 35-year-old English and Literature teacher at an international school in Malaysia will be racing in PURPOSE at the most exciting endurance race this weekend! “Kona, for me, is a few days away from normality, where I can revel in the beauty of the island, where I can listen and watch those around me knowing they too have gotten up at 5am daily, regardless of exhaustion, that they too have pounded the streets relentlessly, have swam until their arms are dropping off....

#HerPurposeIsHere – Jinella Chua

When you live with an Ironman, it is pretty hard not to get influenced at some point. Jinella Chua did a sprint triathlon in her early 20s and thought that anyone who would do a full Ironman is crazy. Then her husband asked her to sign up for an Ironman 70.3 this year and on the spur of the moment, she did. They went for the Ironman 70.3 Bangsaen in February and it was their first trip overseas in over 10 years. The 43-year-old sports and adventure manager at SMU ended up doing four Ironman 70.3 races this year (one...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Julie Jamaluddin

As a mother of five kids – her eldest is 20 and her youngest is 2 – you wonder where Julie Jamaluddin finds the time to do it all. Work, family, training for triathlons and managing the Singapore Women’s Triathlon Club are just some of the many things she does. The 42-year-old educator was very active when she was younger – she was in the school team for athletics, cross-country and netball. But adult life just got crazy busy and she didn’t have much time to try new sports – until she found triathlons. “I got into triathlons through my...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Samantha Lee

Samantha Lee recalls watching the news about a triathlon event when she was a kid and made a mental note to herself that she will try it one day. That day came in 2012 when she took part in her first sprint triathlon. Going into triathlons is only natural for the 31-year-old banker, who learnt how to cycle at the age of four. Growing up in a family of runners and cyclists, Her parents taught her how to cycle and she used to ride to school. At her first sprint triathlon, she was thrilled to survive the swim as swimming...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Philippa Glover

It’s funny how Philippa Glover actually hated her first triathlon. It was a sprint triathlon she did in Singapore three years ago and the tough swim and hot run put her off so much that she vowed never to do it again. Never say never! Meeting other like-minded women in the sport however, has changed her mindset towards the sport and now she is participating in Ironman 70.3 races. Surviving breast cancer has also changed her perspective towards life and she now enjoys pushing her body. Growing up, the 41-year-old nutrition coach was one of those kids who would rather...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Chris Ang

A month after she bought a bicycle, Chris Ang went for the Audax 200km ride and loved cycling so much that she joined her friends for weekly group rides. It was during one of these rides that she learnt what an Ironman triathlon is. Curious to give it a try, she started to train for swimming and completed her first triathlon in the same year – the Bukit Merah 113 in September 2016. “It was a wonderful experience where I enjoyed every moment of it without the desire of chasing for time or position. I completed it with a great...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Mok Ying Rong

Mok Ying Rong follows in the footsteps of her brother Mok Ying Ren, a double SEA Games gold medallist in the marathon and triathlon. The 25-year-old physiotherapist previously held the national half-marathon record of 1:23:14, which was only broken last year. Ying Rong was already competing in swimming in primary school and then represented her swimming club at the club and national level. She dabbled in triathlons for a while before focusing on running. Taking it more seriously, she represented Raffles Girls Secondary at national meets and after finishing on the podium regularly, she decided to try national level events....

#HerPurposeIsHere – Mariana Mohammad

Mariana Mohammad is a beast on two wheels. The 41-year-old road cyclist easily puts men to shame on the tarmac – just ask around. Mariana, a mother of two, was introduced to her first bike at 18 by a friend of hers who forced her to learn how to cycle. There was a lot of cursing in the beginning as she struggled to cycle and do a race that her friend made her sign up for. However, she soon became very good at it and is now eternally grateful to this friend. Her first cycling race – in Kota Kinabalu...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Lesley Lang

After her first Ironman 70.3 race in Taiwan – on her birthday in 2015 – Lesley Lang met with an accident when she was out cycling one night. A car had hit her and she had to be hospitalised for a week as a result. “Luckily my recovery went well and three months after, I managed to compete in my second Ironman 70.3 race. This is my most memorable race because I had a different mindset going into it and I was able to complete it safely. Instead of complaining, I started to adopt the ‘What doesn’t kill us makes...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Nursya Jusoh

It is never too late to pick up a sport. Nursya Jusoh only started running at the age of 36, but has since accumulated an impressive record of accolades in the past few years. The 42-year-old mother of three had minimal sports background and only picked up running because she wanted to lose weight (she was 70kg then). With encouragement from her husband to lead a healthy lifestyle, Nursya lost 14kg and signed up for her first running race in December 2013. To her surprise she finished in the top three and that ignited a bigger flame in her, pushing...

#HerPurposeIsHere – Sumiko Tan

Currently busy with her two-week-old son, Sumiko Tan is a household name in the Singapore endurance sport circle. She started competing in running and swimming when she was in primary school, and then picked up distance running in secondary school and junior college. She did her first marathon at 18 and it was also around the same time that her first running coach bought her a road bike to encourage her to take part in triathlons. Sumiko has previously represented Singapore in the ASEAN University Games for running and at the World University Triathlon Championships, and she was trying out...