Diagnosed with Dystonia, a neurological movement disorder in which the muscles of the patient contract involuntarily, causing repetitive or twisting movements, Huafrid Billimoria used to find a simple act like running difficult.
But by the dint of his hard work, single-minded dedication and desire to excel in his chosen field, the 27-year-old athlete, who has also battled severe learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and a behavioural problem like ADHD (Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder), has made it to record books as the first Indian male to win a Continental-level medal in one of the toughest endurance events in the world — Ironman, finishing on the podium on three occasions.
Billimoria, who has many more firsts like the first individual with dystonia to swim 10km in open waters back-to-back in a year and the first individual with Dystonia to complete an Ironman competition comprising a 3.9km swim, 180km cycling and 42km running, to compete in an Asian triathlon event, which involves a 750 metres swim, 20 km cycling and 5 km running, recognised by the sport’s world governing body, World Triathlon.
Earlier this month, Huafrid Billimoria won a bronze medal in the PTS5 section of the Asia Triathlon Para Championships held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Billimoria completed the course in 1 hour 26:30 minutes to finish third behind Japanese duo Hideki Uda and Keiya Kanako.
The bronze medal won in Samarkand is not only the culmination of a journey for Billimoria as he has endured tremendous hardship in overcoming his disabilities to achieve success but it also triggers the start of a new dream for the 28-year-old from Mumbai who now wants to represent the country in the Paralympics and hopefully won a medal.
His journey has been arduous and an inspiration for people with disabilities to not get bogged down but rather go out and achieve their dreams.
“At the start, I couldn’t even run for 5 kilometres due to spasmodic involuntary movements and that’s when I read about an Ironman (the toughest single-day long-distance race, that’s how I heard about a triathlon). I also realised that only one other person with my condition in the world had done an Ironman,” Billimoria told IANS about how he got inspired to take part in these tough endurance sports.
A student of St Mary’s ICSE, Mumbai, Billimoria went on to study in Hotel Management at the Institute of Hotel Management-Mumbai, one of the best Hotel Management colleges in India, graduating with distinction. Billimoria, who wanted to help others with the same challenges as himself, became a disability and mental health advocate as he did his MA in Social Work in Disability Studies and Action from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai and passed with first Grade.
“My Disability is Genetic, I had it from birth but it went undiagnosed till it got debilitating and my great-grandmother had it. It skipped two generations and became debilitating at the age of 15-16,” said Billimoria.
But his life took a separate course from academics when Billimoria decided to walk the talk and prove that someone like him who suffers from a genetic neurological disorder can endure physical stress and compete in competitive sports.
After trying Ironman events, Billimoria gravitated towards Ironman and from that to triathlon and has now made it his calling.
“That’s when I realised that there are a lot of disability advocates just talking and not doing anything extraordinary to back it up with action to create social impact. That’s when I took my chance to do what had never been done before in India and do it the fastest. Eventually, making me the fastest Indian and the fastest person with my condition in the world to complete an Ironman. Then getting into the shorter format of triathlons to representing the country with its history-making performance,” said Billimoria.
Billimoria, who was diagnosed with dystonia at the age of 16 and despite that participated in marathons, Ironman events and triathlon achieving three podium finishes in Ironman races, a medal at the national -level besides the Asian Championship medal.
Having charted his way into the record books, Billimoria now wants to represent India in the Paralympics and participate in spine-chilling endurance feats like Climbing Mount Everest, Ultra cycling races, swimming the English channel, swimming from India to Sri Lanka and back, Ultramans, Ultra-marathons.
He is determined to achieve his dreams and go above and beyond where even able-bodied individuals would get goosebumps because that’s what his life’s mission is and he has found it alas.
Considering the way she has achieved his feats with determination and endurance, the sky is not the limit for this brilliant para-athlete.
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