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Anja Kobs earned her gold-plated degree. © Private
The Ironman in Porec was the last professional competition for Anja Kobs. And it couldn’t have ended more beautifully for the Allinger woman.
Alling – With 5th place at the Ironman in Porec (Croatia) over the middle distance triathlon and the confident victory in her age group 45-49, the Allingen endurance expert ended her professional career and with it the “second big chapter of my life”.
Although it was an unplanned ad hoc race, the Allinger’s ambitious goal was to complete the total of 113 kilometers of swimming, cycling and running in under 4.35 hours. Kobs missed this goal by around seven minutes, but she still crossed the finish line with a big smile on her face because she was very happy with her performance. “I never look for excuses, we all have our own burdens to bear. Take it or leave it,” says the Allinger resident. And when she found out that she made it into the top five in this international race and dominated her age group, that was the crowning achievement in her 198th multisport race in the past 13 years.
The past competitions were in my bones
But a lot of hard work was necessary again: the water, in this case the Mediterranean, left Kobs after 33:25 minutes in 61st place and eleventh place in the 45-49 age group. The broken hand she sustained a few months ago forced the Allinger woman to take a seven-week break from swimming; she has only been back for three weeks. Therefore, she was able to live with her time. The subsequent 90 kilometers of cycling with 700 meters of altitude on the Croatian main highway were even more fun for her. “I didn’t take it easy on myself.” And so, with a travel time of 2:31.42 hours, she moved up to tenth place overall – second in her age group.
With a solid, but not her best, running performance of 1:31.11 hours, the woman from Allingen took a few places towards the podium. “Normally I can run around two minutes faster in a middle distance, the ultras of the last few weeks have taken their toll, so everything is good,” explained Kobs after the competition. The running route at the Porec waterline was exactly to their liking with an altitude of 115 meters, but also very demanding. In numbers, Kobs’ last appearance reads as follows: Including changeover times, she took 4:42.04 hours. Out of 271 women, she came fifth, 4.10 minutes behind a podium place. She confidently took first place in the 45-49 age group with a lead of 13.47 minutes. This would qualify her for the 2025 World Cup in Marbella. However, because of the end of her career, she will not accept the slot. (Thomas Benedict)
