Shahrez Khan has clinched a place at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship scheduled for November 9, 2025, in Marbella, Spain, becoming only the second Pakistani to reach this level after Khurram Khan.
Khan secured his spot with a remarkable seventh place in his age group at the Ironman 70.3 event in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, completing a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.1 km run in punishing tropical heat. “Crossing that finish line and realizing I’d qualified, it was overwhelming. A moment of pure pride for Pakistan,” he said, and he now sits among the top 5 percent of Ironman athletes globally in the AWA rankings.
Born in Lahore to Aleema Khan and a nephew of former prime minister Imran Khan, Shahrez Khan built his sporting foundation at Aitchison College where he competed in athletics, football and swimming. His interest in endurance sport deepened at the University of Western Ontario and continued through an MBA at the University of Oxford, where he trained daily with the Said Business School cross country team on the tracks of Christ Church Meadows.
Khan leads the MENA region for Simba Global while balancing an intense training schedule. His Ironman journey formally began in 2022 after a challenging half marathon in Islamabad. Although cycling was initially his weakest discipline, he adapted quickly, constructing a “pain cave” at home to train indoors during Lahore’s smog season and keeping outdoor sessions in Bagh-e-Jinnah and cycling routes in DHA Phase 7. Race season training reached up to 18 hours a week and included dedicated brick workouts to simulate race-day fatigue.
His campaign has been supported closely by Rd. Rizwan Aftab Ahmed, CEO of ACTIVIT and Director of National Hospital DHA Lahore, who has been instrumental in organising cross-country camps at Aitchison College and mentoring young endurance athletes. “We aim to inspire a generation stuck in sedentary lifestyles,” they said, underlining a shared commitment to build sporting pathways for Pakistani youth.
Khan believes Pakistan has the terrain to host international endurance events and is vocal about using his platform to encourage change. “Dedication, grit, and discipline will take you beyond what you think is possible. The physical and mental rewards are limitless,” he said, as he prepares to represent Pakistan in Marbella and push the boundaries of what local athletes can achieve on the world stage.
