ATHLETICS: REFUSING TO GIVE UP |
For two weeks, Shahrez Khan’s world shrank to the size of a prison cell.
The elite triathlete who measures life in kilometres suddenly had nowhere to go. An athlete whose days begin before dawn — swimming laps, riding endless kilometres or pounding the roads on another run — was confined to four walls, stripped of the routine that had become second nature.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a positive person,” he tells me months later. “Being in a confined environment… other than having faith or mental resilience, what else do you have? I just kept believing things would get better.”
His arrest in August 2025 thrust him into the national spotlight for the first time.
Until then, Shahrez had lived largely outside the public eye. Despite belonging to one of Pakistan’s most recognisable political families — he is the son of Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan — he had deliberately kept a low profile, focusing instead on his textile export business, his family and a sporting obsession that few outside endurance circles knew much about.
Shahrez Khan is among the brightest stars on Pakistan’s triathlon landscape. He qualified for the prestigious Ironman 70.3 World Championship as well as for Pakistan’s Asian Games squad. However, the real test of his endurance may be off the field…
Shahrez Khan is among the brightest stars on Pakistan’s triathlon landscape. He qualified for the prestigious Ironman 70.3 World Championship as well as for Pakistan’s Asian Games squad. However, the real test of his endurance may be off the field…
He was arrested in connection with cases linked to the May 9, 2023 riots. His family maintains that he was targeted because of his relationship to the former prime minister, while authorities say the cases are part of ongoing legal proceedings stemming from the unrest. Shahrez spent two weeks in custody before being released. The experience, he says, tested him mentally but never altered the way he viewed life.
And, at 44, Khan laughs at the idea that his best years are behind him.
“Age is just a number,” he says. “You’d be amazed what........