The former Ironman world champion Sebastian Kienle is struggling with a fair amount of melancholy after the end of his career.
“What I’m not good at is when I know that it’s a final farewell. You only really realize that when it’s actually over,” the 39-year-old told the FAZ: “I’ll start at home Cleaning up your apartment and realizing that every running shoe has a thousand kilometers of memories attached to it.” This is “not an easy process”.
Just over a week ago, Kienle took fourth place at the Ironman Cozumel, the last race of his farewell tour. Being “pushed a bit outward from the center” is “sometimes a painful weaning process,” said the 2014 Hawaii champion. “But it quickly became clear through my little son that relatively soon you will no longer be the fixed star Your little universe. Then you see what’s big and important from a completely different perspective.”
He is therefore “not afraid” of the future. “I’m an optimist per se and am happy about opportunities. It’s relatively rare that you have the choice again when you’re almost 40,” says Kienle.
In his career he has “learned above all to make decisions himself and then be able to live with the consequences.” That’s why he looks “positively into the future”.
