How it all began..

Desaru in the nineties was a bustling place with the promise of endless excitement on it's long stretch of sandy beaches.
The pace of development in and around the area was picking up momentum and
a boom in the tourisim industry was taking place. There were five star hotels; there were the golf courses and there were the orchard farms which attracted
tourists from all over the world.
But the Johor state goverment was not contented. They wanted to do more
to put Desaru on the world map and so the idea of staging an international sporting event was mooted.
That was in 1996 and the then State Executive Councillor for Tourism, Datuk
Jimmy Low Boon Hong, had an idea.
As he recalled: "I still remember Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman was all
out for tourism and sports tourism in particular. Johor, he believes, have all the potential to be developed into a world class tourism destination.
"I was handling the Tourism porfolio then and we shared the same vision. What we
wanted was to have a signature sporting event which could fit into the image
of Desaru as a place where sports and leisure can mix."

They thought of golf; they toyed with the idea of a yatch race and an international marathon was also on the cards.
"Desaru had everything then. Five star hotels and chalets were springing up. Golf courses were being built and the nearby areas had the waterfall and jungle trekking route. There was also the fruit farm nearby. But we still needed something extra.
"Then somebody suggested a multi sports event where the beach can be used and the
flat surrounding areas can also be utilised," recalled Low.

So the triathlon was born. The first event was held in 1996 and then known as the Desaru International Half Ironman. It continued until 1999 when it was then changed to the Desaru Internatonal Triathlon in 2000.

But in 2003 with the blessing of the Sports Minister Datuk Azalina othman who
ia also the Member of  Parliment for Pengarang, which is where Desaru is situated, a new name was launched. It is now known as the Desaru-Pengarang International Triathlon with a total of RM 100,000 in prize money on offer and
attracts an average of between 800-900 competitors each time.

And big names in the world of triathlon including Australia's Bryan Rhodes, the 2004 winner; Jason Shortiss of Australia and New Zealand's Stephen Sheldrake and women participants in Australia's Caroline Cooksley and Japan's Yasaki Miyazaki have taken part.
"I am happy for the Desaru International Triathlon. To see it grow from strength
to strength in terms of participation and prize money is heartwarming. I hope it
will go on forever.
"Infact thirteen years of competition is not really long. There are some
international sporting events which has a much , much longer history. Maybe the
Desaru International Triathlon will be one of them," added Low.
ends.

Source by:
Dan Guen Chin
BERNAMA