Girona – Mario Gotze almost felt guilty. Boris Becker couldn’t believe it. And Felix Neureuther felt like a debut as a triathlete.
Jan Frodeno also fascinated other current and former sports stars with his Ironman at home. The main actor of the Solo-Tri @ home treated himself to a cold beer after around eight and a half hours.
Proud of what he had achieved this time: Frodeno raised money fighting primarily against the coronavirus. “No world records broken,” said Frodeno: “But there are no words for what happened today.” 200,500 euros were raised – they will benefit the helpers in his adopted home of Girona and the Laureus organization Sport for Good.
At 8:00 a.m. what started off a snap idea and which the former nanny of the Frodenos had taken shape: a triathlon over the Ironman distance of 3.8 kilometers swimming, 180 kilometers cycling and 42.2 kilometers running. Everything at home. Because like everyone in Spain, Frodeno is hardly allowed to leave the house.
The tales of the nanny, a trained nurse who volunteered to go back to work in Girona and primarily helps people in the desperate fight against the coronavirus, drove Frodeno. She was also added by video after her night shift during the almost nine-hour live broadcast, among other things on the Frodenos Facebook page. Like Frodeno’s parents. They live only a few hundred meters from their son, his wife Emma and their two children. At the moment they can only see each other by video.
There was also a variety for Frodeno. Because one thing should not be forgotten, even if he alone won the World Cup in Hawaii three times, won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and is thus the only triathlete whoever managed to do it: without moving more than five meters from the spot. »
Frodeno mastered it in around 8: 33.39 hours – in a good mood, joking, fighting, laughing, dancing and singing, at the latest when he got out of the pool, which was just 13 degrees cold, with a counter-current system and changed for cycling on a roll. Connected with around 1000 riders who cycled the 180 kilometers with the online platform, including the two-time Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, sweating profusely on the balcony. “Today I’m hunting Jan Frodeno,” said the 39-year-old ex-professional from Switzerland.
Despite the physical exertion, Frodeno always had enough breath to chat with. Whether with tennis player Andrea Petkovic, who wants to teach him a little dance, football world champion Gotze, who got almost a guilty conscience given Frodeno’s athletic performance. Or with Germany’s former ski star Neureuther, who called for patience at his triathlon premiere and announced breaststroke for the first section, that his subsoil was more like frozen water.
Or also with tennis legend Becker, who couldn’t understand how you could talk as much as Frodeno with such an effort and also wanted to know why the 38-year-old native of Cologne became someone who does three disciplines at once each is exhausting enough for itself. Frodeno’s surprising answer: “I was a terrible tennis player.”
Frodeno was mainly cared for by his wife Emma at his Tri @ home, the Australian also won Olympic gold in triathlon in Beijing in 2008. Sometimes a kiss, sometimes a dance, but above all Emma’s banana bread always made Frodeno smile. It became very wide in the last few kilometers. Otherwise, Frodeno enjoys the red carpet at the finish and the cheers of the spectators.
This time he especially enjoyed looking at the sum that had been raised for a good cause. “Winners are the first to cross the finish line, champions create great things that go far beyond the sport,” was a comment on Instagram.
