Completing a triathlon is hard enough without having to worry about seeing where you are going.

Welcome to the life of Balham man Tej Thaker.

Tej has had to rely on glasses for correcting his poor vision since the age of 10, which has been very frustrating for him.

But despite this he has managed to become a successful triathlete, coaching as well as competing.

“Within triathlon, there are three disciplines - four if you include the transition- and each has its own challenges," Tej said.

"Poor sight and using glasses or contact lenses can add an element of difficulty or inconvenience.

“In training I always used to swim without prescription goggles or contacts which meant I couldn’t see much at all, just the black line to follow at the bottom of the pool.

"Once at an Ironman race in Spain however, bearing in mind how much effort we put in to train for these races, I got kicked in the face in the first kilometre of the 4km swim and my contact lens fell out. I could hardly see out of one eye, in the middle of the sea.

“Other times when I’ve been cycling at speed in the wind, my contacts have come out despite wearing sunglasses."

So with an ambition to qualify for Team GB Sprint Distance, he made the decision to under go an eye procedure to try and correct his vision so glasses no longer get in the way.

Alex Shortt, consultant eye surgeon at Optegra Eye Hospital Central London was the one to perform the procedure and felt the Tej's frustration.

"There are many different vision correction treatments available these days and following a thorough examination I recommended he have Lasik laser eye surgery," Mr Shortt said.

“This works by using a laser to carefully re-shape the front window of the eye – the cornea – to adjust the eyes’ focusing power.

"Tej had quite a high prescription, but we have been able to treat that so he can now enjoy his sport and his coaching without glasses or contacts.

"He is so enthusiastic about triathlons, he is even trying to get me to have a go.”

Tej said he is excited to get back to the thing he loves now.

"Each of the three different sports were negatively affected by my sight and reliance on glasses or contact lenses," he added.

"This operation has solved the problem once and for all.

"The recovery was super quick, though I could not swim for two weeks, so serious athletes may want to think about timings so it does not affect their training and lead up to important races.”