World snooker champion Luca Brecel ‘very serious’ about shock career change, ‘people think it’s a joke’

FORMER world snooker champion Luca Brecel has revealed he is “serious” about trying a new sport.

The 29-year-old has been competing in the Northern Ireland Open this week.

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On his non-playing days, Brecel has been traveling there from the Spanish island of Mallorca to train for his next adventure.

The snooker star is training for an Ironman triathlon – a long-distance race that includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and a 26.2-mile run.

He arrived in Belfast on Sunday just hours before his first match against He Guoqiang and left immediately afterwards.

Brecel returned to Northern Ireland last night ahead of their 4-1 defeat to China’s Pang Junxu this morning.

With his training in full swing, the Belgian Bullet hopes to run an Ironman Triathlon in 2028.

He told BBC Sport: “It (the Ironman triathlon) is a huge ambition of mine – some people think it’s a joke but I take it seriously.

“This is the main focus and Mallorca is a good environment to train, many of the professional cyclists come out there.

“I’m going to focus on cycling and running for the next two years and then start swimming.”

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He continued: “A Belgian, Frederik van Lierde, won the Ironman World Championship in 2013, so I might ask him to train me a bit. That’s on the cards.

“For me, being in Mallorca is not a matter of sun, it is of temperature and it is a good environment to train.

“It’s not about lying on the beach, I haven’t seen him yet, but about training.

“I wouldn’t have practiced anyway if I’d stayed here in Belfast, but that’s not always the case.

“Normally I’d be at home, practicing my schedules every day, but I prefer it that way sometimes during the season, so it’s not always the same.”