Astronaut completes first triathlon in space

An American-Indian woman has completed the first triathlon in space.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams ran, biked, and "swam" on the International Space Station at the same time as athletes in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, which was held in Southern California back on Earth over the weekend.

"I'm happy to be done," Williams told Space.com. "It wasn't easy, and I'm sure everybody in California's very happy to be done too."

"A big shout out to our astronaut strength and conditioning folks, who were really interested in this and who got this whole workout together."

The bike leg was done on a stationary bicycle and Williams was strapped to ensure she didn't float away during the running leg on the treadmill, while a resistance machine was used to simulate swimming.

It's not the first out-of-this-world feat accomplished by Williams; in 2007 she ran a marathon on a treadmill at the same time as the Boston Marathon was being run, finishing in a time of four hours, 23 minutes, and 10 seconds.

Captain Williams' biography on the NASA website includes running, swimming, biking, triathlons, windsurfing, snowboarding and bow hunting among her recreational interests.

Williams, the current commander of Expedition 33 on the International Space Station, is living and working alongside Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Akihiko Hoshide of Japan. The trio will return home in November.