Next goal: Top ten in the world rankings
The Ironman competition tests the limits of the human body, and you could say it is more a test of one’s ability to endure pain. Before becoming a triathlete, Li never allowed herself to cry. Through the event, she says, she has learned how to cry, that crying does not mean weakness, and that she won’t quit just for that reason.
She once competed in the Mongolia Bike Challenge, a mountain biking race, which virtually every day required riding over rough gravel roads. Both her arms were virtually numb from vibration, and the constant friction of the bike seat opened a wound in her buttocks that became infected and began to suppurate. She was in such pain that she was actually screaming, causing some of her competitors from other countries to be very taken aback. Eventually someone gave her a more comfortable bicycle seat to use.
Asked how bad the pain was, she takes a deep breath and replies, “It was agony, there was so much pain that I could hardly breathe….” And yet, “I didn’t want to give up, because the feeling of quitting is even more painful.”
Once, in the cycling leg of a triathlon, she was suffering cramps in both legs, and eventually toppled over on her bike. Gritting her teeth, she got back on the bike and continued on. Another time she had to swim through lake water that was near freezing, and when she got ashore she had lost feeling in all four limbs. Then there was the time that she had intestinal problems in the middle of a marathon, alternately running and stopping to relieve herself, and she had to push on through intense abdominal pain, feeling as if she would faint all the way to the finish. And the time she had an asthma attack but kept on running even as she gasped for air, refusing to quit even when event staff recommended she call it a day. For her, completing an event is important because it shows who she is as a person, and also because she represents Taiwan.
Li says: “Committing to this kind of extreme sport lets everyone know that you can always keep pushing the limits of the human body.”
Li Shiao-yu’s next goal is to make it into the top ten in the world rankings. She has kept her nose to the grindstone and has high expectations of herself, and she has complete faith that she will go full speed ahead to make this dream a reality.
“Train, train, and train some more.” Only by continually getting stronger can Li deal with any challenge that courses or weather throw at her. (photo by Trisha Chen)
“Train, train, and train some more.” Only by continually getting stronger can Li deal with any challenge that courses or weather throw at her. (photo by Diego Santamaria)
It has been a long and lonely road to professional status for Li, because there has never been any other triathlete in Taiwan at the same level as her. Her current goal is to get into the world top ten. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)