Hawaii is once again the triathlon Mecca. In terms of sport, it could hardly be more exciting. And the end of the German title series at the Ironman World Championship is threatening.
Since 2014, Sebastian Kienle (2014), Patrick Lange (2017, 2018) and Jan Frodeno (2015, 2016, 2019) have won all editions in the triathlon Mecca up to the World Cup failures in the past two years due to the corona pandemic. This Saturday (6:25 p.m. CEST, in the live ticker at sportschau.de) the Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt is the top favorite. The 28-year-old won Olympic gold last year, among other things, and in May of this year he was also Ironman champion at the catch-up World Championships in St. George in 2021.
There will be no duel with superstar Frodeno if the race starts in Kailua-Kona Bay. Frodeno is there, but will not start due to a hip injury with subsequent operations. Lange is hoping for another win, although he was slowed down this year by a wheel crash and a corona infection in preparation. Kienle estimated his chances at his last Hawaii appearance at five percent.
To the pain threshold and beyond
The competition is enormous. If it often just ended in a duel, the list of potential podium contenders is long. Especially since the race, due to the great heat coupled with high humidity, pushes the body to more than the pain threshold and the psyche to the limit due to the straight sections on the bike and when running.
“You come here and you think you are who. The island shows you that you are a nobody”, emphasized Kienle before his last performance in Hawaii. In 2012 he started there for the first time and became world champion in 2014. Now, above all, he wants to enjoy crossing the finish line – at the end of the red carpet his son, who is just over a year old, will also be waiting: “It has the potential to be an emotional climax.”
Blummenfelt as the measure of all things
Kristian Blummenfelt is considered the measure of things for men. And that as a Hawaii newcomer. The 28-year-old Norwegian competed in an Ironman for the first time less than a year ago – and won in a splendid time in November 2021 in Mexico. He also became Olympic champion, ITU world champion and long-distance world champion last year. He also won the 2021 Ironman World Championship in May.
“You actually have to gather your experience here first, once, twice three times. But we don’t have the time,” said Blummenfelt at the press conference on the race. After the Ironman World Championships, he wants to focus again on the short distance and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Lange, the 2017 and 2018 world champion, knows how things are in Hawaii. Even if the training and competition year was anything but complete due to a shoulder injury after a bike crash in February and a corona infection in the summer when it was optimal, he was ready, emphasized the native of Hesse. His premature end in 2019 only made him stronger. “I want to give the answer on Saturday”, said the 36-year-old. He could “Have a say in the best-case scenario for victory”.
Haug third in the women, outsider Sodaro wins
In the women’s race, Anne Haug took third place on Friday (CEST) in Hawaii. The 39-year-old lost a gripping duel for second place when outsider Chelsea Sodaro won.