Dr. Nichakarn Ruttanaporn (Nini) ดร. ณิชกานต์ รัตนาภรณ์ (ณิ)
Academic life I was born and raised in Bangkok. I finished my high school at Shrewsbury International School, Riverside. I moved to the UK and spent the next six years studying Medicine at University of Leicester. I graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2015 with an intercalated BSc in Exercise Medicine (2013).
Triathlon and Sports I have always enjoyed many sports since I was young. Taekwando, horse-riding, tennis, ice-skating, basketball, football...just name it! I started running at the end my first year at university, attempting to finish 10km charity run with friends. It was just for fun but I got hooked onto it after that. The distance I wanted to complete soon escalated to 42km, a.k.a. "Marathon". By the time I graduated from medical school, I had already completed three marathons in Bangkok, Leicester and London with a personal best of 3.40hr.
One day I got bored of studying and found a video of a weird race, consisted of swim, bike and run. I later learnt it was called "triathlon", of which was on my "challenge list" right away. I could possibly get away with "not drowning", but the major problem was I couldn't really ride a bike. Against my parents' "ABSOLUTELY NOT!", I got a cheap road bike and tried my best to stay on the thin wheels.
I decided to join a triathlon club in Leicester where I learnt more about training and had lots of fun. Lovely members taught me how to cycle and I started going to swim sessions with them. I attempted my first sprint triathlon not long after. That was how it all started!
Accident and Second Chance On 25th of April 2015, I was supposed to be celebrating passing my final exam five days ago and finally becoming a doctor after hard years of studying. The motorbike hit my back wheel while I was out on a training ride for Ironman 70.3 World-championship, Zell am See. I broke my right hand and my right foot, got a big cut on my head (the helmet saved my life) and had a big haematoma on my hip from ruptured arteries.
I had four operations as a resultand rehabilitation became my new sport after the accident. I was left with a permanently damaged right hand (malunion so I have no more grip) as well as a right foot (a non-union fracture of my heel bone and a displaced cuboid). It was an extremely difficult time but I was so determined never to give up.
To be able to swim, cycle and run again was a tough task, both physically and mentally. I integrated these activities into my rehabilitation to keep up the motivation (and hopefully made it to the WC still....and I did!). I learnt a lot about myself during this tough time. But more importantly, it helped me putting the broken pieces back together. By the end of 2016, I already had Thailand's half-ironman/middle distance record and claimed my first Thai-champion title at Laguna Phuket Triathlon.
I am very proud of what I have achieved and for not giving up having to overcoming multiple injures and hardships. I was blessed with an opportunity to work with Brett Sutton, one of the best coaches in the world and trained with his world-class squad. With my coach Rafal and my hard-working attitude, I'm on a life-time journey to be the very best I could possibly be....and living my dream!
After all, it is not just "swim/bike/run" but to "overcome personal challenges".