Cycling and running that began as a hobby for this government officer have now taken him to international success.
Cycling and running that began as a hobby for this young government officer have now taken him to international success with a title win at the International Ironman event in Khazakstan recently.
Meet Sadanand Amarapur who is serving as Assistant Director of the Hubballi Taluk Panchayat; he has successfully completed the triathlon, which demands physical and mental endurance, at Astana in Khazakstan.
In the event organised on July 2, Sadanand Amarapur swam 3.9 km, cycled 180 km and ran 42 km completing the triathlon in 13 hours and 27 minutes bagging the International Ironman title.
Sadanand Amarapur was among the 1,200 athletes from 62 nations who took part in the international event. By successfully completing the physically and mentally demanding event, Sadanand Amarapur has become the first government officer from Karnataka to achieve the feat.
Son of a former police officer Hanumanthappa Amarapur, Sadanand Amarapur initially took to wrestling like his father and participated in national-level wrestling competitions. A native of Ichchangi in Haveri district, Sadanand Amarapur joined government service as Panchayat Development Officer in 2010 and got promoted as Assistant Director (Rural Employment) in 2018.
Sadanand Amarapur, who has received various service awards for his work, took to cycling and running as a hobby and later, they became his passion.
His association with Hubballi-Dharwad cyclists took him to various events and he completed the Tough Man event held in Goa in 2017. By successfully completing a series of Brevets of 200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km in a year, he won the title Super Randonnuer in 2019. And, he completed the Tigerman Duathlon at Nagpur in 2020 and the Herculean Triathlon in Odisha in 2021.
As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, he covered 3,800 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on a bicycle carrying the message of Addiction Free India and disseminating information on programmes of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.
Felicitation
On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde felicitated and congratulated Sadanand Amarapur for his achievement.
Responding to the felicitation, Sadanand Amarapur attributed his success to the support and cooperation extended by his family, friends and the encouragement he received from senior government officials of the State government.
source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)