Because of a break in the rule with itself
Ironman icon ends her career
07/22/2025 – 6:21 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Anne Haug is as well known in the German Iron Mean Scene as hardly any other woman. Now the sport is over for you.
For years she stood up for the fear of the moment the body no longer participates – now he was there. Anne Haug, the first German Ironman World Champion, surprisingly ends her career at the age of 42. The triathlete draws a clear line just a few weeks before the highlight of the season in Hawaii.
The trigger for the resignation was her giving up at the Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz. “I have imposed the rule for 20 years: I never break off a race, no matter how hard it will be,” said Haug in an interview with the “Welt”. The fact that she now broke through this principle was a final signal for her. In Spain she felt “unable to run at all”. Something was broken – something that, in her view, can no longer be repaired.
The decision did not come out of nowhere. In the past two years, Haug has fought with several health setbacks – including thyroid inflammation, thrombosis in the eye and a stubborn foot injury. There were also lengthy consequences of a covid infection, including a so-called corona diabetes. At the 2023 World Cup in Nice, a technical defect also prevented a better placement – despite the form of top.
“It is hard because sport has determined half my life,” said Haug in retrospect. She celebrated her greatest success in 2019 with the World Cup title in Hawaii. With second place in 2023 and third place in 2022, she completed her medal set at the Ironman World Championships. Three victories in the Challenge Roth also include their track record – including the record run 2024. In 8:02:38 hours, she set up an unbeaten world’s best to date.
But after this record there was suddenly nothing left. “Like a chewing gum”, the time afterwards felt. Haug believed for a long time that there was a limited level of physical and mental strength – and that it was now apparently used up. A start in Hawaii without a real chance of victory did not irritate her anymore. In addition, she would have had to qualify for 2025.
The triathlete from LAZ Saarbrücken sees herself as too ambitious to run her sport “for less than world class”. Something new starts with the end of the career – even if you feel uncertainty. Nevertheless, she is convinced: “Everything in life makes sense.”