It was an endurance test for the squad athletes: The German Triathlon Union (DTU) organized a performance test at its bases.
Simon and Franca Henseleit showed good form - the latter qualified for an important competition.
Nuremberg - It wasn't a conventional triathlon competition, but it was an official hardness test - and there the triathlon siblings Simon and Franca Henseleit showed good form. In the performance test of the German Triathlon Union (DTU) last weekend, the team athletes from Steingaden were among the best in their classes.
Franca Henseleit was “definitely super satisfied”. She completed the 800 meter swim and 5000 meter run in a total of 27:44 minutes. In the youth / junior ranking, the 18-year-old landed in third place. The best seven from the performance tests held in parallel in Nuremberg (where Henseleits lived), Potsdam and Saarbrücken are directly qualified for an internal competition in Kienbaum (Berlin) in May. This is about qualifying for the Junior European Championship (June 18-20 in Kitzbühel).
Before the competition, the athletes had to take the corona rapid test. Franca Henseleit is well aware of the importance, but still applies to her: The tests with the stick deep in the nose and throat area "are uncomfortable". Afterwards she felt much more comfortable in the water. She completed the 800 meters in the swimming pool in 9:52 minutes - that is a personal best. “It went really well,” said the triathlete on her blog. There she also revealed what her warm-up program for swimming looks like: For around 1.5 kilometers, “bathe a little through the water, start very comfortably, build up a feeling of water”. After that, "in any case, swim a few short sprints and maybe swim one or two 50 lanes at the targeted competition speed in order to get more speed and security".
Franca Henseleit qualified for qualification competition in Kienbaum
The running took place in the stadium, the athletes were sent to the tartan track according to their swimming intervals.
Running against the clock was “not an easy task” with seven degrees Celsius and strong winds.
But it is precisely such challenges that “are what make sport so special,” says the 18-year-old.
She ran the twelve and a half stadium laps in 17:52 minutes;
this is also a personal best for Franca Henseleit.
For her, the performance test - also for injury reasons - was the first competition since August 2019. The fastest female junior, based on the results in all three bases, was Jule Behrens (Hessen) with 26:53 minutes.
A highlight of the year will - should the Corona situation make it possible - for Franca Henseleit the German championship of youth / juniors. This takes place in their home country as part of the “Schongau Triathlon” (July 17th / 18th). In Lechstadt “I did my first triathlon,” says the Steingadenerin. But the competition is not only special because of the memories: The junior championship over the sprint distance (750 meters swimming, 20 kilometers cycling, 5 kilometers running) is also about qualifying for the Junior World Championship, which is in this Year in Bermuda (October 15 to 17) should take place. She would like to be there, especially since it is her last year in the “juniors” age group. In 2019 Franca Henseleit already took part in a Junior World Championship.In Lausanne she finished 17th, but started the race with a handicap. Due to a foot injury, she was unable to complete any running training beforehand.
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Fight against the clock: Simon Henseleit ran the 5000 meters in windy conditions in the stadium at the base in Nuremberg in 14:40 minutes.
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With the men, Simon Henseleit showed a strong performance in the DTU performance test with a total time of 23:48 minutes.
In the evaluation of all participants at all three bases, the 21-year-old landed in sixth place.
Simon Henseleit said he was skeptical about the performance test.
"During the week I didn't feel good in the water at all, and running wasn't as easy as in the weeks before," he said.
But on the day of the competition, he felt up to par again - the training control had worked for him.
“The plan worked,” said the 21-year-old with satisfaction.
Hard fight on the career path for Simon Henseleit
In the 800 meter swim, Simon Henseleit set a personal best with 9:08 minutes. So "I was able to slightly exceed my own expectations". For the 5000 meters he had set a time of 14:35 minutes. In view of the less than ideal weather conditions in the stadium, it was clear that it would be difficult to achieve this goal. "But there are no excuses here," he clarified with a smile. Ultimately, the Steingadener was just a little slower than planned. With the 14:40 minutes “I'm really happy with the conditions”.
Simon Henseleit completed the first kilometer in 2:53 minutes. “Although I had very good legs, it was extremely tough to keep up with the pace.” He ran the next two kilometers in 2:57 minutes. "From then on it just really hurt and I had to bite through tremendously," reported the German junior champion from 2019. He ran the remaining two kilometers in 2:57 and 2:55 minutes. Only Max Sperl was better than Simon Henseleit in Nuremberg (23:27 minutes), who was second-best overall in the “men” age group.
