Alessandro Alpha Muknicka
lessandro Alpha Muknicka. Who practices triathlon and is linked in the history of the modality in Brazil, certainly have heard of him. Born in São Paulo and settled in Florida, United States, since the mid 80's, where he has worked for 13 years as a renowned massage therapist living in Gainesville, FL.
Muky - as he is known - built his amateur and professional triathlete career in the 1990s. He was selected to work as an official massage therapist of the Olympic Games in Rio, attending in the Olympic Village innumerable athletes of diverse sports modalities. At age 54, Muky has an extensive triathlon résumé. According to him, more than 300. Among them, he has already competed in 15 IronMan races around the world (4x IronMan Hawaii in 1994/95/97/98) and is currently preparing for his fourth competition at the UltraMan distances that will be UB515 in Rio in April.
Your dreams are as big as your experience as an athlete. For this to happen, he works about 45 hours a week massaging the clinic where he has worked for 10 years and trains according to his availability of time.
He intends to make history as the world's oldest triathlete to complete an UltraMan test, along with that an even more daring personal project - if it exists that is bolder than we have already mentioned.
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"I have a somewhat unusual relationship with the 'Unogwaja Challenge'. In 2014 I was invited to participate in this event in 2015 in South Africa and a few months later, when I was already engaged in fundraising for this institution, I ended up being excluded from the team. The reasons or motives never convinced me, so I decided to travel to Africa and pedal alone without any logistical support the 1,700km between Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg before running the Comrades Ultra-marathon, repeating the 1933 feat of Phil Masterton-Smith'' says Muknicka.
In fact, this story began in the 1980s, when Muky lived in São Paulo, played water polo at the Club Athletico Paulistano and was a student at CPOR (Prep Center for Reserve Officers). At the CAP, Muky met Nato Amaral, who later became Comrades ambassador to Brazil, the South American with the largest number of entries in the traditional ultra marathon (14x Comrades finisher).
"I was more than 30 years without any contact with him, until in 2014 we approached through social networks. He was training for this Unogwaja Challenge. Until then I had never heard of this event as well as about this incredible ultra marathon. But the story told by Nato filled my eyes. And he convinced me to apply to be one of the 12 athletes of 2015. After a judicious process, I was chosen along with another Brazilian athlete. We would be three Brazilians riding on the Unogwaja Challenge. Until in January I was cut off from the event" ...says Muky, who at that time had been training for the UltraMan Florida.
Muky remembers that he spent three days very upset and sad, after all he was dedicating himself to raise the high value demanded by the organization for the philanthropy in South Africa and still the necessary value for the trip without counting the registration fee..
Recovered from this unpleasant situation, Muky decided to continue what had already begun. He worked hard, asked for some financial help from his family and friends, got the $800 entry fee reimbursement and bought a ticket to South Africa.
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"I arrived in Cape Town with my bike without knowing anyone and without any contact. I remember with more than thirty years traveling abroad, I never saw my mother crying at the airport, watching her think that I could not come alive while pedaling without support crossing the country for 10 days and afraid of being robbed, run over or even being attacked by an animal. I remember telling her that if I were to die, I would be doing something in which I love and with my heart at peace, because deep inside my intuition would leave me calm and confident. In May 2015 I left Cape Town to start my challenge on my bike carrying more than 20 kilos in the saddle bags the next day after the Unogwaja team's departure. I slept at the roadside or in small inns and despite being without logistical and vehicle support I reached the final destination after 10 days on the same day that their official team arrived in Pietermaritzburg and the following day I left to run the Comrades Marathon "says Muknicka, who repeated the feat in 2016
Having been inspired by Phil Masterton-Smith two years in a row aroused in Alessandro Muknicka the desire to provide the adventure to other athletes. This year he repeated this incredible journey, but otherwise. He took with him some athletic friends, holding his own event called "Cape to Comrades Challenge." He gave them the logistical support of a great team and the freedom to cycle or not all the way.
"My intention is to make this event be held annually for at least the next 15 years, thus solidifying this project having as a main platform the engagement of selected athletes and staff to join the team in the growth of a foundation aimed at needy young people who want to practice sports and dedicate themselves to the studies through a community action in favor of its local community with the financial support coming from companies involved in the event ", completes Muky.
According to him, I could do it all on my own again and reap the results but I want to give other people the opportunity to experience this epic odyssey by linking it to a philanthropic child development movement in South Africa and Brazil. I want to get the message that everything is possible when we believe in ourselves, "Muky adds.
The "Cape to Comrades Challenge" is the protagonist of Alessandro Muknicka's dream script. Over the next 15 consecutive years, the triathlete not only wants to organize and participate in the event but also wants to compete at least in an ultraman competition per year.
In 2018 the challenge is the UB515 Brazil Ultra Triathlon in April.
Besides all of that, Muknicka intends to establish a new world record in his work field of massage therapy, feeling qualified and prepared with strong credentials to perform for 72 hours non stop massage sessions on his table, thus making an event with worldwide repercussion and focousing on raising funds for a charitable foundation.
"I hope to keep doing it until my 70 years and to be the oldest triathlete in the world to complete an UltraMan race, currently the world record is 67 years," says Muknicka.