He can count the hours: triathlon giant Jan Frodeno is facing the last big race of his unique career. When he crosses the finish line at the Ironman World Championships in Nice on Sunday, he will not only have ended the race, but also his professional career. At the age of 42, he, who is known in the triathlon scene as “GOAT” (“the greatest of all times”), is going into sporting retirement.
Frodeno was the first and is still the only German to win Olympic gold and was later crowned winner of the legendary Ironman Hawaii. In 2013 he switched from short distance (1.5 km – 10 km – 40 km) to long distance (3.8 – 180 – 42.2). His three biggest races? Here he explains what they are – and why.
Olympic victory: “The fall after gold shaped me”
August 19, 2008, Beijing: With a tactical masterpiece, Frodeno surprisingly wins gold. A fight, a crime thriller until the end. Almost 150 meters from the finish, he pulls away in the final sprint. “The beginning of everything. The knowledge that it is possible. My childhood dream comes true. The goal that has driven me for years and in which my parents have always supported me has now been achieved. Simply indescribable. Winning the Olympics gave me the feeling of having achieved my sporting success.”
Jan Frodeno celebrates his Olympic victory
Source: picture alliance/dpa/epa/Nic Bothma
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It is the first and so far only Olympic gold for the German Triathlon Union (DTU); Frodeno has just turned 27 years old. “I really enjoyed this success, perhaps even exaggerated it a bit, and a much needed self-discovery phase followed. Overall, it was an incredibly cool time that, in retrospect, I wouldn’t want to miss. The crash afterwards is also part of my story – it’s the reason why I’m still here now and also the reason why I learned to fight so hard.” Frodeno was mentally at a low point in 2010 and 2011, on the verge of a burn -Out, nothing worked anymore, not even in sport.
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Third Hawaii win: “Enjoy it, it could be the last time”
October 12, 2019: “My third win in Kona. It’s strange, but during the last kilometers of the marathon I felt that it could be my final race in Hawaii. My subconscious told me: ‘Enjoy it, it could be the last time.’ The pandemic (There was no race in Hawaii in 2020 and 2021. editor), my injuries in 2022, which prevented me from starting, and the relocation of the World Cup from Hawaii to Nice – of course I couldn’t have predicted all of this, but I had a strong feeling about it at kilometer 30 to the finish. That’s why it was even more enjoyable to run towards victory, with the strong assumption that it would be my last race in Hawaii. And of course also because it was a return to the top.”
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He had already triumphed in Hawaii in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Frodeno had to stop, pause and walk during the marathon with back problems. He didn’t give up, but slowly struggled to the finish and ended up in 70th place. In 2018 he had to cancel his start in Hawaii due to a stress fracture in his hip.
His third and last Hawaii victory: Jan Frodeno at the finish in Kona in 2019
Those: picture alliance/dpa/AP/Marco Garcia
“Of course the Hawaii victory in 2015 is also very, very special. Simply because it was the first time. But I don’t think I was mature enough to really enjoy it back then. Everything changes, of course, and I describe it from today’s perspective. But 2015 was definitely very special. Things look a little different when we won in 2016. I’m still not sure if I deserved it. It was too routine. Copied in 2015. I was unoriginal – and in 2017 it was certainly the consequence of me previously thinking: ‘Okay, I’ve got it!’ But I thought that six months beforehand. I have a funny connection to the Hawaii win in 2016.”
Winning the PTO US Open: “Soul-deep joy”
August 4, 2023, Milwaukee: Frodeno’s celebration at the finish after the distance of two kilometers of swimming, 80 kilometers on the bike and 18 in running shoes says a lot: it is a celebration that was reminiscent of his Hawaii victories. “After the misery. After all the shit of the last few years. Admitted to hospital 365 days prior. Almost pitied by everyone. ,The poor guy! Didn’t manage to take off and is now just floundering. Can anyone here stop the drama?’ People close to me also asked why I didn’t give up and whether I wasn’t afraid of being the next frustrated athlete who quits too late. I didn’t see myself that way, I was convinced that I could do it. But I also had a lot of questions and occasionally thought: ‘What if they’re all right now? That would be uncool.’”
Jan Frodeno celebrates his victory in Milwaukee
Quelle: Professional Triathletes Organisation
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And a lot had happened: not only the pandemic, which affected everyone, but also his own health problems affected Frodeno. Problems with the Achilles tendon and incorrect treatment of the injury determined the first half of 2022. Afterwards, the painful task of attempting a comeback in Roth. In July, a serious bike crash that destroyed the rest of his sporting year in 2022, which should have been his last – and almost his career too. Broken ribs bothered him. “Plus a dormant inflammation in the hip. A toxic cocktail. Nothing worked anymore, the body no longer accepted any stimuli. At some point my doctor in Germany said: ‘This is no longer about sport, this is about being able to walk normally again at some point.’”
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What followed: hospital, three operations, a long forced break. Even at the turn of the year, Frodeno was not yet back to 100 percent. “I always try to look at the positive, I find it difficult in 2022,” he says. 2023 got better, slowly. Fourth at the comeback in May in Ibiza, fourth at the Ironman Hamburg. “Finally, the win in Milwaukee. I have rarely been so heartfelt and truly soul-deeply happy about my own success. I appreciate this win so much, unlike when I was in my mid-20s or mid-30s. And it’s the exact opposite of the 2016 Hawaii win, where I kind of expected it to be.”
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