“The throne stays with me”
Old master Frodeno celebrates a furious victory comeback
8/5/2023 4:54 p.m
The superstar shows it all. Jan Frodeno will retire in just over a month – but before that the triathlete will win the high-class US Open. A “legendary performance by a legendary man” and a clear announcement before the Ironman World Championship.
Jan Frodeno kissed his upper arms, he patted his chest and showed his fists at the camera. The German triathlon superstar celebrated an outstanding victory in his penultimate race at world class level. Two weeks before his 42nd birthday, the Rhinelander prevailed at the US Open of the Professional Triathlon Organization (PTO) in a top-class field over 2 kilometers of swimming, 80 kilometers of cycling and 18 kilometers of running in Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin. “It was a few emotional weeks,” said Frodeno. After 3:14:12 hours he stretched his arms in the sky and shouted out his joy about the victory comeback: “And I’m very lucky to be able to enjoy it now.”
The three-time Hawaii champion took fourth place at the Ironman in Hamburg at the beginning of June. At the beginning of May, Frodeno also missed the podium in fourth place at the PTO European Open in Ibiza. He had to cancel his actual start of the season after a difficult past year with injuries and setbacks due to a virus.
The jubilation and probably the satisfaction after his demonstration of power against the younger generation was all the greater. Second went to Jason West (30) of the USA, 27 seconds back. Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, shooting star and worst challenger, came in third after cramping when switching from cycling to running, a further ten seconds behind. “Hats off,” commented the 29-year-old in the direction of the winner.
Success days are “rare”
“When Kristian hit me on the way to the first buoy, I thought: you can have the changing of the guard, but the throne stays with me,” said Frodeno. In the pre-reporting, he had already engaged in a small battle of words with Blummenfelt for the cameras, who, like Frodeno, became Olympic champion and Ironman world champion.
Frodeno received $100,000 for winning the US Open. Above all, however, before his career finale with the Ironman World Championships on September 10, he sent a clear signal to the competition for the first time in Nice on the Côte d’Azur. “The days when you can set your own pace and feel really good are few and far between,” said Frodeno, who also had to deal with flight problems when arriving from the training camp in Lanzarote and in the hour of success the time had to think a year ago. “I was in the hospital and had my first operation.”
After problems with the Achilles tendon, a hip infection had made it difficult for him. “Coming back and competing against the best of the best is just a privilege,” emphasized Frodeno, who took the lead on the running track in eighth after swimming and second after cycling. “A legendary performance by a legendary man,” wrote the PTO.