When Yee Sze Mun turned up for his supposedly last triathlon, the Ironman Langkawi 70.3, last year, the 16-time Ironman finisher (17 if Ironman China is included) looked forward to a complete retirement from training and sports.
“As soon as I cross the finish line, I will be a ‘free man’ because I am no longer bound by a tight training schedule,” he told a news agency a day before the race in October.
But after over 30 years in the sport, adjusting to normal life was a huge challenge for 87-year-old Yee, or Uncle Yee, as he is fondly known by peers and race crew members.
“I had long forgotten what ‘normal’ felt like. It was like suffering withdrawal symptoms; it was so alien to me,” he describes the first two months of his so-called retirement in his second book, The Unexpected Finisher.
Barely a year after his retirement pledge, Uncle Yee is back to the routine he knows well: intensive training of running, swimming, and resistance.
He trains five days a week, alternating between a 90-minute swim and a 5km run, with either a session of strength training or rehabilitation, depending on his condition.
His goal: the 2025 World Masters Championship, scheduled for May next year.
For the uninitiated, the games is a multi-sport event similar to the Olympics, but for athletes over the age of 35. However, unlike the Olympics, these athletes compete for themselves, without national delegations.
“Well, I am retired from Ironman races but not from the sports, the training,” Uncle Yee cheekily remarks.
As part of his journey to the championship in Taiwan, the self-made businessman pairs his training regime with a high protein and low carb diet.
A late bloomer
But, Uncle Yee wasn’t always active in sports. He didn’t grow up involved in athletics or fitness; he only began his journey at the age of 48.
“In my 40s, I had to work very hard to put food on the table to feed six people – my family and my parents. I was an unfit man who had no time and energy for other things beside work,” he recalls.
That was until two wake-up calls that came within months of each other. The first was an unintended blood test result, to which the doctor told him to get off the couch if he wanted to live past 60.
In disbelief, he sought a second opinion from a palm reader who told him, “Your lifeline ends at 67.”
“I was just 48 but those wake-up calls threw me into a life-changing journey of never ending self discovery,” Uncle Yee says.
He describes his 30-year journey of self-improvement as having four stages: progress, addiction, passion, and lifestyle.
“What started as a need to improve gradually became an addiction to the feel-good hormone, endorphins,” he says.
“I couldn’t get through a day without exercising, which drove me to work out six days a week.”
The regular workouts transformed Uncle Yee from a couch potato into a fit, slim, and trim athlete, while the endorphins made him feel better about himself and happier.
“These results fueled my passion for fitness, and now, it’s become my lifestyle, even at this age. Like it or not, I have to go out and sweat it out, even though I can’t go as fast anymore,” he admits.
The race begins
Despite his rigorous training, Uncle Yee hadn’t planned to participate in any race.
“One day, I saw a big banner for the Port Dickson International Triathlon hung across the road in front of a yacht club. I went in to check it out, and when I left, my name was on the participant list,” Uncle Yee recalls
And just like that, he was in his first triathlon race. He was 52.
Six years later, he attempted his first Ironman race at the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 1995, finishing in 16 hours and 37 minutes.
But that gruelling maiden race didn’t deter him. Uncle Yee went on to compete in 21 Ironman races, finishing 16 of them, with six podium-finishes.
“Seventeen if Ironman China is counted,” he adds. Despite crossing the finishing line of Ironman China, his result was discounted due to technical issues.
On top of that, he also raced 42 times in The Half Ironman, now known as Ironman 70.3, finishing 37 of them with 10 podium-finishes.
Over his journey, Uncle Yee has competed in over 100 triathlon races of various distances worldwide, securing first place in the 8th Asian Triathlon Championship in Sokcho City, South Korea in 1999.
In 2015, he was inducted into the Ironman Malaysia Hall of Fame as its First Inductee.
“It was an honour I never dreamed of,” says the proud octogenarian.
Uncle Yee shares his Ironman journeys in his books “The Bumblebee in Mee – Living the Ironman Dream” and “The Unexpected Finisher” which are available at major bookstores, selected bike shops and fitness and rehab centres and Tropicana golf club sports registration counter. – Zalina Mohd Som
