Triathlon stronghold: Roth is the Franconian Hawaii! | Regional

As a BILD reporter, there is no sporting event that I prefer to report on more than Challenge Roth.

The world’s largest long-distance triathlon competition has been taking place just outside Nuremberg for almost 40 years.

In front of up to 300,000 spectators, 5,500 individual and relay participants torment themselves year after year over the hellish distance of 3.8 kilometers swimming, 180 kilometers cycling and 42.195 kilometers running. The marathon at the end…

I have already been allowed to start six times at this unique sporting event.

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Every single time I cross the finish line is still one of the most moving moments of my life. For eleven to twelve hours I always fought against my weaker self, pushed unimagined limits and still felt a mixture of pride, happiness and contentment months after the finish.

Year after year, the Walchshöfer family of organizers manages to put together a top event that gives some athletes and spectators more goosebumps than the legendary Ironman in Hawaii.

And so Germany’s triathlon superstar Jan Frodeno (40) insists on coming to Franconia again on July 3rd. The three-time Hawaii champion on Roth: “In the last few months I’ve realized that I need a firm goal again, and there is no more fantastic race than Roth.”

And one thing is certain: I will also be back at the track in 2022 and cheer on the athletes so that they, like me, can experience this incomparable feeling of happiness on the “Finish Line”.

My best time, by the way: 11 hours, three minutes. But that was never the most important thing to me.

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