Anne Haug at the Ironman in Hawaii: sleeping, eating, world-class sport

One thing that the long-distance triathlete Anne Haug can hardly help with is dazzling information about her private and emotional life. The 39-year-old from Bayreuth rarely provides relevant information about her favorite films, as did ex-ski racer Lindsey Vonn, who was not averse to dazzling. Vonn once revealed that she loves “Gladiator”, Ridley Scott’s ancient Roman carnage, and she also recognized some parallels to her former profession: “You’re not allowed to use weapons on the ski slopes, but sometimes I wish I at least had boxing gloves.”

Haug also prefers to keep other vices to himself. A year ago, she revealed to the world that she enjoys crocheting and knitting (“It’s great to do something really simple after a workout. And unlike sports, I see results quickly.”). Her life consists 100 percent of triathlon, Haug once said in an interview, laughed and added: “I guess I’m so boring. But I’m completely satisfied when I can train, eat and sleep.” There is no one speaking who would tackle their competition with boxing gloves or swords.

On the other hand, this often distracts a bit from how tough Haug can be in competition. In 2018 she was third in Hawaii, in 2019 she even won the scene’s most prominent endurance triathlon, and the fact that it wasn’t quite enough for the second win on Thursday was less due to her than to two opponents who performed a little more memorable on another memorable one day on the Pacific island.

The big favorite Daniela Ryf collapses while running

The organizer Ironman had presented the women’s race separately for the first time, one of the arguments was that they wanted to pull the athletes out of the shadow of the men’s competition. Many suspect that the main reason is to allow even more starters in this way (and thus make more profit from the mythical glorified torture), but good. What quickly became certain on Thursday: the athletes performed a spectacular race on their stage, which underlined how much the level had recently swelled again.

The competition initially followed the script, with Briton Lucy Charles-Barclay, the best swimmer in the field, going first on the bike course. The Swiss Daniela Ryf, the five-time Hawaii winner, who recently won the Ironman World Championship in St. George with ease, pushed past the replacement race for the 2021 Hawaii edition. But Ryf didn’t look as strong as expected on their parade route and it wasn’t long before Charles-Barclay passed on the run. The former permanent winner: collapsed, eighth place.

But anyone who expected Charles-Barclay to be overtaken by stronger runners like Haug had forgotten American Chelsea Sodaro: the 33-year-old, a former middle-distance runner, started her marathon in under four minutes per kilometer. One hell of a cut.

But Sodaro was evidently not only in the spirit of insouciance that inspires debutants in Hawaii, but also in defensive form. Although she narrowly missed the course record on the marathon course (2:51:45 hours), her winning time – 8:33:46 hours – quickly faded. Only Ryf had ever been faster in Hawaii (in 8:26:16 hours four years ago). Charles-Barclay also successfully defended himself against Haug’s attacks, both scored almost at the same time and around eight minutes behind the winner. Laura Philipp, who had a strong start to the race, followed another eight minutes later in fourth place – the German co-favorite had apparently disregarded the slipstream ban when cycling and received a five-minute time penalty. Even when the first frustration had subsided, I felt Philip severely wronged.

Haug’s body is perfectly built for the heat and humidity of Hawaii

If you wanted to find one thing in common for the two Germans in the end, it would probably be that in Hawaii even an almost perfect daily form is often not enough for the big hit. “It was everything that was in it,” Haug said on ZDF: “If you’ve given everything, you’re happy with everything.”

Fast Mom: American Chelsea Sodaro wins her Hawaii debut

(Photo: David Pintens/dpa)

What should also comfort Haug: Her summary already reads better than that of any other German starter in Hawaii, with her triumph and now two third places (Nina Kraft was denied the victory in 2004 because of EPO doping). That inevitably raises you to the status of a leading figure, which on the one hand has often been lost with all the German successes around Jan Frodenos, Patrick Langes and Sebastian Kienles. On the other hand, Haug is not one who publicly celebrates such a role. But why should she?

Sometimes it is enough to give a testimony of what is possible in such a sport with staying power. Haug’s trainer Dan Lorang only discovered her when she was 20 years old, after successes on the Olympic short distance, she was introduced to the long distance. In any case, Hawaii and Haug quickly became a fruitful relationship. At 1.64 meters and 51 kilograms, she is perfectly built for the heat and humidity that sets the torture in Hawaii apart from most others.

The burden of the defending champion is now shouldered by the winner Sodaro

Haug did not sink into depression when the scene’s meeting point failed twice due to Corona. She loves to keep pushing her limits just in training, says Lorang, who in turn loves to meticulously measure every heartbeat with a data-driven evaluation that has long since included triathlon. Haug’s dedication to training, says Lorang, goes so far that she finds competition very stressful. And this year, in addition to her own demands, she also had this burden on her shoulders: Hawaii titleholder.

But on the one hand she still has a few big races ahead of her, Haug recently emphasized, which at 39 years of age in the endurance industry is no longer a sensational thesis. And the burden of the defending champion is now shouldered by Sodaro, 33, a newcomer in the over 30 class. The American turned triathlon professionally only four years ago, but already acted like a veteran in Hawaii, judging by how diligently she stocked up on water and ice at the aid stations before pushing on. With her victory she chiselled one of the most remarkable stories in the annals of this race, many agreed: Not only because she is the first American in 26 years to win in Hawaii. Sodaro has been the mother of a daughter for 18 months.

source site