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Ironman in Frankfurt: Fabian Schaffert qualifies for Hawaii - Anja Kobs wins silver

2022-06-30T07:51:40.833Z


Ironman in Frankfurt: Fabian Schaffert qualifies for Hawaii - Anja Kobs wins silver Created: 06/30/2022, 09:43 am By: Thomas Benedict Total exhaustion: Arriving at the finish, Fabian Schaffert collapsed completely exhausted and first had to be looked after. © Private Six starters from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck started at the Ironman in Frankfurt. Two of them returned with the silver med


Ironman in Frankfurt: Fabian Schaffert qualifies for Hawaii - Anja Kobs wins silver

Created: 06/30/2022, 09:43 am

By: Thomas Benedict

Total exhaustion: Arriving at the finish, Fabian Schaffert collapsed completely exhausted and first had to be looked after.

© Private

Six starters from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck started at the Ironman in Frankfurt.

Two of them returned with the silver medal.

Alling/Fürstenfeldbruck – Around 2,500 competitors, 3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of cycling and then a 42-kilometer marathon.

That is the challenge at the Ironman in Frankfurt.

A number of athletes from the district faced this ordeal – with success.

On the one hand there is Anja Kobs, who took second place in her age group.

And there is Fabian Schaffert, who fulfilled his dream of qualifying for the legendary Ironman in Hawaii.

The conditions

In addition to Allinger Anja Kobs and Fabian Schaffert, four other athletes from the Tri Team Fürstenfeldbruck traveled to Frankfurt: Nico Scheller, Daniel Eitler, Florian Hochwart and Fabian's father Friedrich Schaffert.

But Kobs and Fabian Schaffert had set themselves the highest goals.

After all, Kobs arrived as the long-distance triathlon world champion and was one of the hottest title contenders in her age group.

Fabian Schaffert's goal was the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

To do this, he had to be at least second in his age group (M25-29).

In addition, the event in the banking city is considered a European Championship for men, but the association's blessing is missing for women.

But that shouldn't really matter to many of the athletes.

Swimming

The race started early in the morning with the 3.8-kilometre swim, which – interrupted by a short shore excursion – zigzagged through the Langener Waldsee.

The first shuttle bus that brought the athletes to the lake left at 4:30 a.m.

In the so-called rolling start - the athletes go into the water one after the other and not all at once - the district athletes dared to tackle the first stage of the competition.

This was best mastered by Florian Hochwart, who, as the fastest Brucker, sprinted out of the Langener Waldsee in the direction of his bike after 53:12 minutes.

It was precisely in this section that Kobs made a mishap – she needed 1:12 hours for the 3.8 kilometers in the water – that would keep her busy for the entire race: while sprinting to the bike, the Allinger stumbled and broke her middle toe right foot - which she only realized after the competition.

But she felt the pain immediately.

The bike course

Kobs wasn't just struggling with her toe, though.

Your real problem was higher up: in the gastrointestinal tract.

Simply negating a stomach ache in a bike race of 180 kilometers (and 1500 meters in altitude) does not work.

The result: "I broke quite a bit," reports Kobs.

However, it still arrived after 5:32 hours, around ten minutes behind schedule.

A visit to the blue Dixie box probably fixed the problem.

Just in time, because the thermometer in the Main metropolis had already surpassed the 30-degree mark.

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But the first physical complaints also made themselves felt among the starters of the Tri Team Fürstenfeldbruck.

Friedrich Schaffert's thigh began to cause problems and he started the race more slowly from then on.

His club colleagues, on the other hand, flew over the two-lap course in optimal conditions at the time: Fabian Schaffert reached the second transition zone after 4:42:04 hours, Nico Scheller after 4:53:44 hours, Daniel Eitler after 5:10 :01 hours and Florian Hochwart after 5:26:27 hours.

Only Friedrich Schaffert lost a lot of time with 7:00:23 hours.

The marathon

The last stage followed: the almost 42-kilometer marathon.

The athletes who had made it this far were rewarded with a spectacular setting, countless spectators and constant cheering.

But they also urgently needed this motivation.

Because the sun beat down mercilessly on the athletes.

It became too much for Friedrich Schaffert.

The thigh problems, which had already made themselves felt on the bike, forced the Brucker to retire.

The rest of the tri team gritted their teeth.

Getting there somehow was the motto.

But not for Fabian Schaffert: he was in second place in his age group and therefore on course for the World Cup.

However, his competitors were breathing down his neck.

Anja Kobs, meanwhile, tried to hide her broken toe.

A bad toe might not be a problem on a bike, but it certainly is in a 42-kilometer road race.

Kob's answer to the question of how she was able to do that sounds simple: "I masked out the pain and simply rolled over my big toe more." The weather, on the other hand, played into the Allingerin's cards.

"I can do heat!" Kobs emphasizes again and again.

Your 3:29 hours prove it.

For comparison: The overall winner for women, the professional triathlete Daniela Bleymehl, who was twelve years younger, was on the road in 3:12 hours, the second best German and fourth overall Katharina Grohmann, also a professional, needed 3:24 hours.

In the target

After a total of 10:24 hours, Kobs crossed the finish line in front of the famous Römer from Frankfurt.

Manuela Suess from Leipzig was only 3:09 minutes short of the AK45 title.

Sweet as Kobs, a starting place for the Ironman Hawaii is guaranteed.

Süss will probably drive, it is her "absolute heart race", as she writes on her homepage.

Kobs, on the other hand, foregoes the trip, which is not exactly cheap: “It's far too much effort for a race.

So I prefer to stay at home and take part in the Bavarian Trail Championships.”

Quite different Fabian Schaffert.

Completely exhausted, he reached the finish after 8:49:37 hours.

There he collapsed exhausted and had to be cared for first.

At the moment, Brucker wasn't really aware of what he had done.

"I was so on autopilot that I didn't even have my target time in view," says the newly crowned Hawaii qualifier.

He later wrote on Instagram: "By the way, if someone had asked me at the finish line if I wanted to, I probably wouldn't have said yes.

That was the toughest race ever.” At least so far.

But he won't be alone at the World Cup in Hawaii.

His sister Carolin had already qualified for the World Championships at the Ironman in Hamburg.

Now nothing stands in the way of a family trip.

The other times: Nico Scheller 9:32:24 hours, Florian Hochwart 10:05:24 hours and Daniel Eitler 10:08:23 hours.

(Horst Kramer and Thomas Benedict)

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2022-06-30

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