triathlon
Ironman EM in Frankfurt: Sarah True celebrates victory after drama
Sarah True won the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
Sarah True celebrates a special success at the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt. The US triathlete collapsed shortly before the finish in 2019, this time she crosses the finish line as a beaming winner.
41-year-old American triathlete Sarah True has the I won the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt and thus celebrated a proverbial happy ending.
She beat her compatriot Skye Moench (8:57:30) in 8:54:53 hours. The duel between the two Americans on Main in 2019 is remembered as a sporting drama.
At that time, True had collapsed in the heat with a six-minute lead with a kilometer to go and was overtaken by Moench. This time, True ran past her US rival with nine kilometers to go and finished happily victorious by more than two and a half minutes.
Laura Jansen best German triathlete
Athletes from other continents can also fight for the title at the European Championships. After 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers on the bike and a marathon run of 42.2 kilometers, the best German triathlete was fourth in the Heidelberg Ironman debutant Laura Jansen in 9:08:11 hours. Over time, she qualified for the World Championships on October 14 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She left it open whether she would start there,
After her victories in 2021 and 2022, defending European Championship champion Laura Philipp decided not to start this year and competed in the triathlon classic in Roth a week ago. Daniela Bleymehl, who won the women’s Ironman on the Main last year – without European Championship status – had to give up after 120 kilometers on the bike course. The 34-year-old from Darmstadt was hypothermic after swimming and got off the bike at an air temperature of just 16 degrees, shivering and with circulatory problems.
The men’s Ironman European Championship took place in Hamburg at the beginning of June. She was overshadowed by the death of a motorcyclist. In Frankfurt, the organizers drew their own conclusions, reduced the number of accompanying motorcycles to a minimum and increased security measures.