Meet Alfred Cheong and Co, the ‘Iron-Family’

LANGKAWI – Completing an Ironman race is already an amazing feat on its own. 

But when an entire family crosses the line together, it would be nothing short of commendable.

That is the story of Alfred Cheong and his family, or more aptly named the “Iron-Family”. 

After participating in his first Ironman race back in 2017, 58-year-old Alfred had left a mark on his family, as they joined the 2019 Ironman 70.3 Langkawi in 2019 together. 

“Races like these are really good in building character and discipline, and the feeling when they cross the line is something my entire family can be proud of,” said Alfred, who is a businessman and engineer. 

In an interview with the media, Alfred’s daughter, Joanne, said she could recall the time in 2017 when her father had decided to partake in his first Ironman race. 

“After he registered for it, all he did was train for the race for the next nine months. 

“We ran as a family, but biking was not a strong suit, so my dad really put in the work for it,” she said. 

On race day, Joanne said she and her family were following Alfred’s progress on the Ironman Tracker application, which made her excited and eventually led the entire family to sign up for the event in 2019 as an “Iron-Family”. 

Alfred’s son, Sam, added that training together for Ironman races is also another way the family spends time together. 

“Since we run as a family quite often by participating in half-marathons and Olympic distance events, I always felt that maybe my dad secretly wanted us to join him in Ironman races as well. 

“He signed us up for the 2019 Ironman 70.3 Langkawi, and since the opportunity was already there, I figured we might as well train together for it. 

“With all our schedules, we train together early in the morning. It all pays off when we cross the line, which fills us with pride and satisfaction,” said Sam. 

The newest addition to the family, Winson Wy, who is Joanne’s husband, said the first time he met Alfred, he knew the family was seriously into running. 

“The first question my father-in-law asked me was if I ran. At that time, I only did fun runs, so I felt that I needed to do more.

“Slowly I joined more triathlons and Olympic distance races. And when we were in Desaru several months back for the Ironman 70.3 Desaru Coast, I was only there to support. 

“But when I saw the overall positivity among the participants, I felt very motivated and signed myself up for Ironman 70.3 Langkawi,” he said. 

Unfortunately, the mother of the family, Christine, was forced to sit out the race due to a knee injury, but said she hopes to recover soon in time to prepare for next year’s race. 

Ironman Malaysia offers up to 55 qualifying slots for the 2023 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, while there are 30 slots available for Ironman 70.3 Langkawi participants to the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland. – The Vibes, November 5, 2022