Sunita Williams completed triathlon in space, set another record

Houston: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams set yet another record as she completed a triathlon in space by running, biking and “swimming” along with athletes during the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in Southern California over the weekend.
Williams, who is the US commander of the Expedition 33 crew aboard the space station orbiting Earth about 240 miles (386 km) overhead, used exercise equipment that included a
stationary bike, treadmill and strength-training machine specially formulated for weightlessness to simulate the triathlon experience in space.

After “swimming” half a mile, biking 18 miles, and running 4 miles, Williams finished with a time of one hour, 48 minutes and 33 seconds, she reported.

The space station has its own treadmill and stationary bike, which use harnesses and straps in place of gravity to keep astronauts from floating away.

To simulate the swimming portion of the race, Williams used the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate
swimming in micro-gravity.

Meanwhile congratulating Sunita, NASA’s flight director in Mission Control termed it “critically important” to understand human physiology and ways to keep oneself physically fit and strong in the orbit.

Exercise is mandatory for all astronauts, because without it spaceflyers’ muscles and bones would deteriorate in weightlessness.