It’s always great to see former athletes thrive even in retirement. And while a lot of the time, this means they step away from sport and into another field, for some, they just choose a different sport. It’s common knowledge that a basketball great retired from hooping and played minor league baseball for a while. And shortly after, famously ‘returning from retirement’ and getting back into basketball. Well, here’s another one of those instances for ya. Ex Boston Bruins captain who led the team to the 2011 Stanley Cup, Zdeno Chara, seems to be building himself a thriving career as a triathlete!

After completing the two Boston Marathons, a half Ironman, and a full Ironman, and getting ready for the Triathlon World Championship in October, Zdeno Chara is wasting no time getting his foot in the door of the world of multi-sport endurance races.

Just yesterday, the official NHL X account uploaded a post of a beaming Chara announcing his completion of the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon in France where 4000 participants climbed the 21 bends of Alpe d’Huez, managing to endure the elevation that in parts is more than 11,000 feet! “Another day, another triathlon complete for Zdeno Chara!” The NHL Twitter account captioned the image of a smiling Chara, adding “Big Z completed the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon in France which included more than 11,000 feet of elevation.” Chara looks like a professional triathlete in the picture, smiling wide and unphased by the feat he just accomplished. 

Boston Bruins fans and Chara fans in general didn’t waste time sharing their words of encouragement for the superstar, well, they’re more like words of total awe at Chara’s sheer physicality.

Fan reactions to ex Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara just completing the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon

One fan drew on personal experience, writing, “I bumped into him by accident when he was in mtl to play against the habs, this guy is one massive unit and would not want to be on his bad side…” clearly it was Chara’s stature that stole the show in the NHL announcement, because ‘unit’ seemed to be a commonly used term for this ex captain!

Another fan gave us some insight into what the triathlon consisted of, writing, “1500m swim in a glacier fed lake, 70 mi bike with 2 cat 1 climbs BEFORE you get to Alpe d’Huez with is a beyond category climb and it’s 22 switchbacks. Then at the top- a half marathon around the ski resort at the summit. Bad Ass!” So, Chara isn’t just running, he’s literally doing it all, maybe more than what he was doing in the hockey ring? It seems like the opposite of what any other athlete might do after retirement, here Chara is retired and pushing himself physically more than ever.

The there was that one fan who said what all the rest were thinking, “The man is a Titan,” this one wrote, summing it up concisely.

Yet another had a sincere question, “How does a hockey legend make triathlons look like warmups?” It’s valid, because though hockey is on the ice, it isn’t necessarily swimming in a glacial lake, and Chara certainly does look unphased by it.

Another fan still, tried their luck with manifestation, “I swear he could probably still play in the NHL.” This fan wrote, and well, maybe the ex Boston Bruins captain will pull a Michael Jordan and return to it, you never know!