(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

You've just completed your 100th consecutive triathlon. The crowd is buzzing. The media is everywhere. Phones are pointed at your face, cameras are rolling, people are shouting your name, congratulating you, wanting a piece of you.

It's your moment and you're the star that's shining bright, but instead of enjoying the glory or soaking in the spotlight, you're suddenly being rushed towards the medical tent and then, to the hospital.

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It's nothing serious or life-threatening, but in the moment it feels intense: people hovering over you, everyone with their two cents of advice, doctors checking your vitals with urgency.

And in the middle of that commotion your mind says something most people would never expect.“I wasn't panicking. I know how to listen to my body and what it needs. I immediately knew it wasn't anything serious. I was telling the doctors I don't need to go to the ambulance. All I needed was space and time with myself.”

That's the thing about the athlete's mindset. It is unshakeable. Even in the middle of crisis or concern, the attitude with which you see the moment determines how you rise through it.

And that's why Ghani Souleymane, who recently completed his 100th consecutive triathlon, has been able to reach this finish line at all. He doesn't panic about the moment. He doesn't obsess over the outcome. So, what does he focus on?“I think about the space in the middle,” responds the Dubai-based athlete.“Whatever is going to happen in that space, that's what I focus on.” The space where most of the human experience actually unfolds. Yet, most of us get hell-bent on trying to control the outcome. And if the task ahead feels overwhelming - say, completing 100 triathlons back-to-back - the crippling doubt and fear of failure would hold most of us back long before we even start.

But Ghani kept going. Having broken the Guinness World Record at 80 triathlons last month, he continued the daily grind to reach the full century: a 2km swim, 80km bike, and 18km run every day for 100 days, totalling 10,000km. The timing made it even more special, he says, as it coincided with both the Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) and the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Tour.

And though the record books are only just catching up with this triumphant moment, his journey to the finish line began decades ago.

The early years

Long before the triathlons and his step into the spotlight, he was a seven-year-old navigating life alone in Togo, West Africa.“My childhood has been tough,” he says, recalling a memory he seems to have long made peace with.“People will see it as suffering. But I count it as a blessing. It has made me stronger, it has made me who I am today.”

He left home at an age when most children are still taught to hold someone's hand while crossing the street. There was no blueprint, no safety net, no adult guidance, no one looking out for him.“In Africa, to progress you must have someone big in your family,” he adds.“I didn't have that. Even the people I had around, they didn't want to help. Everyone has their own issues. At a very early age, I learned how to do things on my own.”

This attitude made him move to Lagos alone, with nothing but the instinct to keep going. Over the years, his honesty became his currency. He worked hard, earned trust, and eventually ended up driving the daughter of the former Nigerian president. Every job he received was through someone recommending him, he adds.“I worked with people who trusted me with all their life. My honesty and willingness to work hard is what came to my rescue.”

The Dubai move

Like many who arrive in Dubai with hopes of rewriting their future, Ghani boarded the flight to the UAE believing he was stepping into a chapter where life might finally start giving back. Except what awaited him looked nothing like the promises he had been sold.

“The agent lied to me,” he says.“They said, when you come here you will get this job, you will be the driver as well. But it wasn't the case.” Instead of driving, he was transported directly to a construction site.“That didn't work with me. I had to fight with the agent and the boss of the company because they took money from me. I paid for my visa, I paid for my flight but they cheated me. We ended up in court.”

While the case moved through the system, he found himself spending most of his time in the mosque to find some semblance of stillness and clarity.“That's where I made connections. I got to know a retired general of the army who had his own company.” The general offered him a job as a security guard in the Ras Al Khaimah court. It was far from the dream he had come chasing, but it was honest work, rooted in dignity - something he had always valued more than comfort.

The turning point

One ordinary day, while standing outside the court during a break, he picked up a magazine lying around. It featured the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.“The image of runners, the energy of the crowd, the whole atmosphere captivated me. I remember being blown away. That's when I knew I wanted to do this.”

That spark led Ghani to start training, running and start his fitness journey.“I finally found joy in what I was doing,” he adds.“I joined Adidas Runners. I was travelling from Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai just to come attend this one-hour session and travel back again. Sometimes, I would spend the night at the beach just to attend the next section the next day and go back again.”

Eventually, he reached a point where the court job no longer aligned with the fire inside him. He resigned from his job, moved to Dubai, and his entire life began to orbit around movement.“I started doing fitness challenges. I ran from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai to Fujairah, Dubai to all the Emirates. I did it,” he says.“I discovered that it is a gift from God. So, I wanted to use that gift to give back to the community.”

That's when Ghani also shifted his purpose from just running to training children of determination through the Heroes of Hope initiative.“That experience deeply touched me,” he says.“I wanted every challenge to be meaningful, and not just to take my pain away, but to make that pain go away for someone else... to put a smile on someone's face.”

The idea

His first major endurance project was 30 half Ironmans in 30 days during DFC. The following year, he pushed the boundaries even further and completed 30 full Ironmans in 30 days.

Throughout this journey, however, people have been full of doubts for him.“They told me, I wasn't a swimmer, that I had no business attempting something of this scale,” he adds.“They said, what's making you think you can do it? But I didn't argue or defend myself. I was like, okay, I don't need to be great to start, but if I start, I'll become the greatest. I didn't know how to swim but I jumped into the water. I managed to find a way. To find a rhythm that could allow me to swim.”

Then came the idea: completing 100 triathlons during the global T100 Triathlon World Tour's Dubai stop from November 13–16.“When an idea comes to my mind twice, three times, that means God is telling me to do it,” he adds.“I had the swimming cap in my cupboard. Each time I opened the cupboard, I saw the cap and the idea would come again.”

However, every day of the 100-day challenge was a tough mental battle, says Ghani.“Every single day. Even on the first day, even on the last day. When I was camping in my car, I kept asking myself, 'Are you sure you want to do this?'” But the answer was always a resounding yes. His 'why' kept him going - powering through the injuries, the exhaustion, and the added burden of taking unpaid leave.

“It hasn't been easy financially, physically, or emotionally,” he adds.“But I kept going because I knew why I was doing it. Raising funds for children with cancer means a lot to me.”

The hundredth day

On day 100, he crossed the final finish line with thousands watching. It was overwhelming not because of the cameras but because of what people told him.“People were screaming,” says Ghani.“Some participants even called me an idol. Many of them said, you are the reason we're doing this. People were thanking me. I felt like I had touched a lot of lives.”

Ask people what it takes to do 100 triathlons and they'll talk about training, grit, stamina, recovery. But Ghani's journey reveals something far deeper. It takes silence and faith. It takes the ability to focus on the journey, not the end goal. It takes the courage to keep moving even when every part of your body is telling you to stop.

It takes exactly what Ghani has lived since he was seven: a refusal to give up. And, maybe, that is what it really takes.

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