According to a gripping duel: Michael Weiss secures state championship title!

According to a gripping duel: Michael Weiss secures state championship title!

Klagenfurt, Österreich - The 26th Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt offered an exciting meeting of triathletes, in which the German Finn Große-Freese secured first place. The athlete ended the race with an impressive time of 7:52:55 hours, while the Austrian triathlete Michael Weiss took second place and won his fourth state championship title on the long distance. Weiss reached the goal after 7:57:43 hours and distanced the third -placed Norwegian Kristian Grue for eight seconds, which represents another testimony of his strong performance. Große-Freise was particularly able to settle in the second half of the bike discipline and at the end of the race had a lead of 4:48 minutes on white, as vienna.at reported.

The conditions in Klagenfurt were challenging, with temperatures above 30 degrees, which made the race even more difficult. White showed a remarkable routine while running and started carefully while keeping constant pace. He improved from the fifth position and gradually overtook other competitors, including Joao Ferreira from Portugal and his teammates Georg "Enzi" Enzenberger, which he catched up with after about 24 kilometers of racing. Eight kilometers before the finish, he managed to overtake the long -term Wojt from Germany, which led to an emotional finish that felt like goosebumps. The positive response from the audience also motivated him; He took the time to celebrate with the fans, such as michaelweiss.cc.

perspectives and challenges

Weiss will not take part in the Ironman Austria next year, since the event will only be held as a women's professional race. However, he already has clear goals for the future: After a three-month regeneration phase, he wants to prepare for the Ironman Lake Placid on July 24th to qualify for the Ironman World Cup in Hawaii in October. These intentions reflect the urge to stay competitive in the triathlon community and to constantly improve.

In the context of triathlon sports, a current publication by Ironman shows positive trends in the number of participants, especially among younger athletes and women. Over 200,000 athletes took part in Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events worldwide last year. The number of first participants under the age of 30 has increased by 39 % since 2019, while the number of participants in the Ironman 70.3 events in this age group has even increased by 66 % ironman.com. These developments could also help to further establish the sport and to win new athletes.

The Ironman organization is also actively committed to promoting the participation of women in triathlon sport. While women make up 18 % of the Ironman participants and 26 % of the Ironman 70.3 participants, a report has shown that the greatest challenge for women is to find time for training. The perception of Body Image and self -confidence plays a role in which the increasing shares in the community could be further reinforced.

Overall, the Ironman Austria remains an important event in triathlon sport and offers athletes and spectators special experiences and challenges. The constant efforts to promote sport, especially through a better racing experience and more visibility, are important steps into the future.