The Germans won numerous medals at the World Championships in winter triathlon in Asiago. This included Marianne and Peter Grünebach, who made a very special spot landing.
Polling / Asiago - There are special brands that are difficult to plan to achieve. But all the better for those involved if they actually become a reality. Marianne and Peter Grünebach achieved a very special result at the World Winter Triathlon Championship. In their 40th year of marriage, the Pollingers won their 40th medal at official world and European championships in triathlon competitions in all disciplines. The joy of the two endurance athletes from Polling was correspondingly great.
The Grünebachs had prepared specifically for the competitions. But when the World Cup was coming up in Asiago, Italy (Veneto / east of Rovereto), they were both “not sure that the podium could work this time,” reported Peter Grünebach. She had caught a cold. While the Pollingers were acclimatizing on the high plateau, which was over 1,500 meters high, they had to cut back on sport. On the day of the competition itself "the complaints were blown away," said Peter Grünebach.
Winter triathlon: Marianne Grünebach wins silver in Asiago
Marianne Grünebach (65) started the competition as the oldest of 58 women. In her age group, she got three rivals - and in the end won the silver medal. She completed the 3.63 km run in 25:16 minutes and was in third place. Marianne Grünebach was the fastest on the mountain bike - she covered the 6.1 kilometers in 23:20 minutes. The cross-country skier ran a brave race, completed the 4.9 kilometers in 25:03 minutes and crossed the finish line with a total time of 1:17:20 hours. Surprising for her, Marianne Grünebach had left her American friend Sheri Shrock (1:18:12) behind. Gold went to the Italian Luisella Iabichella (1:15:11). Marianne Grünebach had left 13 of the women behind.
Winter triathlon: Peter Grünebach wins gold in Asiago
Peter Grünebach faced five competitors in his age group, all of whom he distanced. With a total time of 1:05:24 hours, he clearly won ahead of Estonian Juhann Lukk (1:07:14). The Pollinger had to let him go first at the World Cup last year.
The Pollinger made the run on which he was riding with spikes in 22:05 minutes; second he ran into the transition area. There he lost a lot of time and fell back to fourth place. Disappointed, he went on the mountain bike route, where he then delivered a strong performance. After 20:33 minutes he had completed the second discipline and was "completely surprising" the leader in his class. In the second change he was the fastest and went into the third discipline with a certain lead.
Winter triathlon: Peter Grünebach mobilizes all reserves
"The ski was running, but it was already jamming on the first gradients," reported Grünebach. Since he knew that the opponent Lukk was a good cross-country skier, Grünebach mobilized all his reserves where he had free space on the trail. With the best part-time (19:13 minutes) of all M-70 athletes, he won his third world title. 67 men were slower than him in cross-country skiing. For Grünebach "a clear signal that the preparation was right and that the training stays and competitions in Livigno and Seefeld had paid off".
The German team with 23 athletes came second in the Nations' Cup with eleven medals behind hosts Italy (32 medals). Austria finished third (10 medals). As in previous years, Russian athletes dominated the elite races. For the first time there were also two starters from Egypt.
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