First bankruptcy in 3129 days?
The German Ironman dominance is shaking dangerously
May 6, 2022 at 6:32 p.m
3129 days: That’s how long it’s been since there was no German winner at the men’s Ironman World Championship. After the failures of Jan Frodeno and Patrick Lange, German dominance is crumbling. Sebastian Kienle is supposed to save the winning streak, but he feels the “ravages of time”.
“In the end, the Germans always win” – this old football wisdom from Gary Lineker also perfectly describes the balance of power at the Ironman World Cup. Sebastian Kienle, Jan Frodeno and Patrick Lange have alternately climbed the triathlon throne in the South Seas paradise of Hawaii since 2014. A full 3129 days ago there was no German winner for the men – but now the black, red and gold reign could crumble.
With Frodeno and Lange, the two most promising trump cards are missing at the World Championships in the alternate location of St. George in the US state of Utah. Kienle thinks he is above the peak of performance. For women, the chances for Saturday (2.15 p.m. and 2.20 p.m. / HR) with defending champion Anne Haug are better, but the winning candidate Laura Philipp, who tested positive for Corona, also has to pass.
2014 champion Kienle no longer sees himself as a top contender for gold. “It will be very difficult to maintain the German series. I don’t think I can bear the burden,” said the 37-year-old in an interview with the “Sport Information Service” (SID): “I don’t see myself in the area of the favourites, but rather behind seven or eight other athletes.” And yet he vehemently pursues his vague dream.
Kienle feels the “ravages of time”
“Realistically, I can set myself any goal – except to win. That’s why I go in with a pinch of unrealism,” he said with a broad grin: “I start to win the race, even though I realize that it will be very difficult .” For Kienle it would be a late culmination of his career, for 2023 he had already announced the end of his career in November.
“There is an expiration date for every athlete in professional sport. I noticed that my expiration date in terms of performance is almost reached,” said the Badener: “If you get up every morning and first feel pain, you lose a bit of faith, that you are indestructible. And you need that belief at a certain point. Unfortunately, I’ve lost it.”
But even if he “feels the ravages of time”, his body offered him “not so little” in the immediate preparation for the World Cup, Kienle rejoiced. Even the ten-month-old son hardly stopped him from training. “I have the right to sleep as long as I can make money from my body,” he said, laughing out loud.
In view of the new World Championship course and the long break, despite all the experience, he feels “a mixture of nervousness, anticipation, a small pinch of fear and also insecurity”. It’s a similar story for Haug, who, after being canceled and relocated due to the corona virus, is finally allowed to defend her title after 938 days – the role of the hunted is bothering her.
“Of course you worry that anything but a win would be a failure or something. But you shouldn’t approach it that way. Every World Cup and every race starts from scratch,” said the 39-year-old to “SID”: “All the others aren’t Easter bunnies, but “professional athletes”. And in the end, it’s not always just the Germans that have to win.