May 15, 2020, 3:50 p.m.
May 15, 2020, 3:50 p.m.
Update: June 17, 2020, 3:33 a.m.
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Kailua-Kona (dpa) The uncertainty is over. Ironman Hawaii 10/10/2020 – does not exist. The World Cup has been postponed to the beginning of February 2021. That also means: two World Cup titles in one year. The reactions vary. Because certainty brings new questions. Frodeno makes a clear request.
– Jan Frodeno from Germany celebrates in 2019 after winning the triathlon in Hawaii.
The next showdown on Ali’i Drive with the three German Ironman world champions has been postponed until next year – but then there will be a double pack.
After weeks of puzzling and repeated cancellations of Ironman races all over the world, the corona pandemic now forced those responsible to take action: The world championship over 3.86 kilometers of swimming, 180.2 kilometers of cycling and 42.2 kilometers of running will take place on 10. October does not take place. New date: February 6, 2021 – eight months before the regular 2021 World Cup on the Big Island.
At some point it makes it a bit silly to have a February world champion and an October world champion, defending champion Jan Frodeno had already said before the announcement and rather pleaded for a complete cancellation.
Buddy and competitor Sebastian Kienle, however, found that the year 2021 will be printed in bold in history. The 35-year-old triathlon professional initiated the German success race with his win in Hawaii in 2014. In an interview with the German Press Agency, Kienle emphasized: There will be two worthy world champions.
At least it is the news that gives athletes’ training plans a goal again. Frodeno can also make friends with this: It is a new challenge – I accept this, he told the dpa. As an athlete, you enjoy clear goals. You can face a completely new racing season, emphasized Patrick Lange via Facebook, who caused a sensation with his successes in 2017 and 2018 after the Frodeno victories in 2015 and 2016.
The 33-year-old from Bad Wildungen, who has been living and training in Salzburg for some time, had previously pointed out the new challenges involved in relocating. To prepare for a heat race in the cold European winter is almost impossible, he told the dpa.
Kienle does not see this as such a big problem, otherwise the athletes would fly to the Canary Islands for their training camp in winter. It’s also interesting to see how the advantages and disadvantages shift around the world, said Kienle. And you shouldn’t forget: not only the preparation in the German winter, but also the race in Kona will be significantly cooler in February. According to climate tables, the average temperature in October is 24.4 and in February 21.9 degrees Celsius.
But Frodeno still clearly addressed one problem: It is possible to be in top form in February and October, and you can also prepare. However, it is impossible to be in top form two more times within twelve months. He alluded to the conditions of participation: The 38-year-old has to confirm his starting position as defending champion by only reaching the finish in an Ironman race.
For many other professionals, however, the ticket is only for a win or second place. This means: For the February competition and the October competition, absolute top performance is required beforehand, which in turn requires an appropriate regeneration time and appropriate preparation beforehand. Therefore Ironman would have to rethink and change the qualification process of the professionals, otherwise it won’t have any healthy consequences, stressed Frodeno.
Which race he will complete beforehand is still open, the selection is currently rather limited. Kienle spoke of a possible participation in Hamburg or Frankfurt. The race in the Hanseatic city was rescheduled for September 6th, a date for the postponed European Championship in Frankfurt has not yet been confirmed.
Defending champion Anne Haug didn’t want to commit yet either. Now that the date for Hawaii has been set, I will sit down with my team and choose a suitable qualification competition, she told the dpa.
The Ironman in Hawaii in a double pack has only existed once since the first race in 1978. Until 1982 the competition was always at the beginning of the year. After moving from the island of O? Ahu to the main island, the Ironman world champions were crowned in both February and October that year.
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