Triathlete Lasse Lührs has achieved the Olympic standard. The 27-year-old from Bonn came fifth at the Grand Final of the World Triathlon Championships Series in Pontevedra.
The German Triathlon Union and the German Olympic Sports Confederation are demanding a top eight placement as a basic requirement for participation in next year’s Summer Games in Paris. In addition, Lührs must be among the top 30 in the so-called Individual Olympic Qualification Ranking at the end of May 2024. “I’m still speechless,” said Lührs. “It’s crazy that I qualified for the Olympics. My dream that I’ve been working towards for so long is coming true.”
Tim Hellwig did even better than Lührs. He had already achieved the standard seventh place at the race in Paris. This time, the 24-year-old German runner-up from Neustadt an der Weinstraße even came in second place over the Olympic distance of 1.5 kilometers of swimming, 40 kilometers of cycling and 10 kilometers of running. In the last few meters, Hellwig had to admit defeat to the Frenchman Dorian Coninx by one second. “Almost everything worked, unfortunately in the end I narrowly lost the finish sprint. But I’m happy to take second place,” said Hellwig.
Simon Henseleit had previously won the world title in his last competition in the U23 category. In 2021, the 23-year-old from Schongau won World Cup silver in the U23.