Snooker ace Ian Burns has backed Luca Brecel to fulfil his triathlon dream - after completing one himself. The Belgian Bullet, who thrillingly won the two years ago, has outlined his goal of completing an Ironman triathlon - which involves a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run - in the next few years.
Brecel, whose are full of snaps of him running and biking, is clearly putting in the hard yards. And Burns, who completed the Bolton Half triathlon last year, reckons that is behind his improved run of form.
The 30-year-old had faced the unthinkable prospect of at the end of this season before an upturn in results. The pair have exchanged messages, with Burns happy to pass on any tips.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
“He says he’s hoping to do the 70.3 [a half Ironman distance] next year and then go for the full,” said the Preston potter in an interview for Reach’s World Championship publication, which is
“He said he was concentrating on the run and the bike at the minute and hasn’t even thought about swimming yet, which is fair enough. The swimming will soon come to him. I’ve told him not to rush into that.
“He’s got the bug that I had. We follow each other on [fitness app] Strava and he's always out on his bike or running, so he’s clearly putting the time in. It would be great to see him do it [an Ironman]. I think if Luca did it, I think you’d see a few other players go down that route.
“As you can see, his performances on the table have picked up since he’s been doing it.
Burns’ own triathlon journey should be an inspiration to others, given he couldn’t swim or even own a bike just a few months prior. “It all started from taking my daughter to swimming lessons,” he explained. “She can swim really well and has no problems going under the water, but that’s something I’d always struggled with. I’d panic, I didn’t like at all. For that reason, I’d never learnt to swim.
“I decided from watching my daughter swimming, I would go and have lessons. I was already a pretty decent runner but I didn’t own a bike.
“Then I saw an advert for the Bolton Ironman 70.3. I thought, ‘I can run, I can now swim and I know how to ride a bike’.
There were barriers for Burns to overcome, chiefly going from swimming in a pristine indoor pool to murky open water.
“Where I go and swim, it’s basically an old quarry,” said Burns, who completed three shorter triathlons to prepare. “It’s about 30 metres deep. The first time I went in that, I had a huge panic attack. All the thoughts came in that I was never going to be able to do it.
“You put your face in the water and it’s freezing.
“You get a bit disorientated but after a few sessions, you end up staying in a bit longer, swimming a bit further. Like anything, you just adapt and get used to it. Now, I feel I could swim for hours.
“I got really fit doing it but enjoyed it as well. It became addictive. To go from not being able to swim just a few months before, to doing the Ironman, I was really pleased.”
Burns is involved in World Championship qualifying as he looks to cling on to his WST card. Realistically, he needs to make the Crucible to stay on the tour.
After defeating Mink Nutcharut in the first qualifying round, he faces Alfie Burden in the second of four qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday.
“I’ve still not played there [the Crucible]. I’ve had a few near misses, losing in the last qualifying rounds a few times,” he said. “Hopefully, this will be the year. I’d hate to finish my playing career without ever playing there.”
