Jan Frodeno is the greatest triathlete of all time. In his last appearance at the Ironman World Championships in Nice, the 42-year-old wants to become world champion again. It would be the culmination of a career with many highlights – and hard setbacks.
Anyone who achieves the best of all time in their sport is often referred to as the “GOAT”, as “Greatest of all time“. There are athletes like Michael Jordan in basketball, Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey or Tom Brady in American football – and in triathlon Jan Frodeno. No athlete before him has shaped, reinvented and made what is probably the toughest endurance sport in the world as popular as he has, at least in Germany.
On Sunday the “King of Triathletes” will start his last race, his last dance at the World Championships in Nice – in Live stream at sportschau.de and on HR television. When the title fights were held for the first time on the French Riviera The 42-year-old would like to win the World Cup title again for the fourth time. Will it be a crowning achievement for the triathlon “GOAT”?
Cologne, South Africa, Saarbrücken, Andorra
Jan Frodeno was born on August 18, 1981 in Cologne, but grew up in South Africa. First he became a swimmer, then a lifeguard, then a triathlete. When “Frodo’s” talent was recognized, he took the classic route: off to the Olympic base in Saarbrücken, towards perfect training conditions and the well-structured development of a body with ideal leverage ratios (1.94 meters with a weight of 75 kilograms).
The breakthrough came in 2008, the Olympic Games in Beijing. One day after his 27th birthday, he was crowned Olympic champion just outside the Chinese capital. It was a tactical masterpiece by the young athlete, who held back until the finish line and then sprinted ahead of the competition. The first German triathlon Olympic champion. As luck would have it, Emma Snowsill won gold among the women at the same time. Two years later the two became a couple and now live mainly in Andorra with two children.
“The Frodo takes it all”!
In 2008, with the Olympic victory, a new triathlon star was born and everyone else, such as world champion Daniel Unger, who had put him in his place the year before, could only watch the triumph. “The winner takes it all“, this saying is especially true in smaller sports where the spotlight is not enough for many stars. In triathlon, it should be reformulated more often in the following years: “The Frodo takes it all!“
Because what began on August 19, 2008, became an impressive series of titles, especially after he switched to the long distance, the premier class of triathletes. Three times world champion in Hawaii, three times European champion in Frankfurt, plus two world championship titles over the half distance 70.3., a success at the Challenge Roth and two world best times. There were also numerous awards, many such as the 2015 Sportsman of the Year or the Laureus World Sports Awards He was the first triathlete ever to receive it.
Many successes, but also a lot of suffering
But Frodeno wouldn’t be the best triathlete of all time if he hadn’t experienced the brutal, dark sides of this stressful sport. From Burnout From hip problems after a serious bike fall to a partial tear of his Achilles tendon, “Frodo” has had to accept many setbacks, especially in recent years. The farewell to the big stage, which was already planned for 2022, was delayed.
Now, in Nice in 2023, the exceptional athlete wants to know it again. It will be a special race before which he “Respect, a little fear, also anticipation“The race will be”the biggest challenge of my career.” The triathlon “GOAT” is supposed to be helped by his motto, which he adopted from another great: Muhammad Ali. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.” (Translated: “If my head can conceive it, if my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.“)