Ironman - Records are broken, legends are written...

Finally, as promised, here is the report from the day of the big race.

It starts very early for us, the alarm clock rings at 4:00 am, but getting up is only difficult for the first few seconds, because we know what an experience awaits us...

Quickly gather our things, important: enough drinking water, as we plan to spend the whole day in Kona and temperatures over 30 degrees are forecasted.

Into the car and along the sleepy streets down to Kona, where we are faced with the first challenge of the day: finding a parking space. Our plan to park at a large supermarket does not work out, as the entire parking lot is blocked off with tape and there are signs everywhere saying 'Ironman Parking prohibited' - they even threaten with 'towing'. Enthusiasm looks different - we are almost a little angry, after all, the island largely depends on tourism during the Ironman time, so there should actually be enough parking spaces - also a point of criticism from many other fans along the route, as we later found out.

But somewhere we finally find some parking spaces that are not signposted, but we don't have a good feeling when we leave our car there...

We walk the last few minutes to Kona on foot, where a lot is already going on. Of course, because when we arrive at 5:00 am, the body marking of the athletes is already in full swing, there are athletes everywhere. And of course, all spectators and fan clubs also want to secure a good spot.

We decide on a spot on the wall directly parallel to the starting line of the swimming course - we are lucky to find a spot here, because it is already very crowded. Occasionally we are 'showered' because there is quite a strong swell and the waves crash with a lot of force against the wall we are standing on. Somehow funny and we also get into conversation with some of the people around us - the atmosphere is already top-notch.

So time passes quickly until the starting shot, it gets brighter little by little, even if the sun rises behind clouds today! Finally, you can also read the inscription on my self-designed fan shirt: 'Today my heart beats for Frodeno' - I have applied it here in creative design and of course, I hope that I can proudly walk through Kona with it tonight. :)

But now the athletes have to get into the water if they want to be at the starting line on time for the starting shot. They finally make their way there and at 6:15 am the conch shell is blown and the professional men start swimming towards the starting line. This is formed by paddlers on their surfboards who paddled out a few minutes earlier - these are the little things that you can only experience on site, which are not broadcasted on television and make the unique spectacle in Kona perfect...

One by one, the approx. 50 male athletes line up behind the paddling row and we eagerly await the starting shot. The women, who start only 5 minutes later, also make their way to the starting line after a second horn signal, waiting behind the men for their starting shot. In the meantime, the national anthem of the USA is played in the background and sung in Hawaiian - Mom and I both get goosebumps - a very special moment on this special day!

And then it comes, the world-famous cannon shot, with the same cannon that has been giving the starting signal for the Ironman for 40 years. This thing is pretty loud, we flinch, even though we had been eagerly awaiting the starting shot - 'let the race begin'!

https://vimeo.com/367423087

Shortly after, the second starting signal for the women professionals, although not by another cannon shot, (actually the ladies would have deserved one) but still impossible to miss.

Now the top athletes are in the water, we watch them as they swim and we are curious to see who will be the first to have land under their feet again. Next, all male 'age groupers' between 18 and 39 years old swim out, but we don't watch their start from the wall, because in order to secure a spot at the transition area in time, we have to make our way there early.

Once we arrive at the transition area, we find a perfect spot and eagerly await who will be the first to encounter us. After a good 47 minutes, the first athlete emerges from the waves, to be honest, I don't even know who it is - for us, it's only important that two seconds later, Frodeno follows!

https://vimeo.com/367423421

Then they get on their bikes, amazing, every movement in the transition area is spot on and before we know it, one after another is cycling away.

https://files.fm/u/jhzb7wy2#/view/BDMV-Clip78.mov;play

In the women's category, Lucy Charles is the first out of the water after 49:07 minutes - with a few minutes' lead over her competitors.

https://files.fm/u/xzmkudfn#/view/BDMV-Clip81.mov;play

Daniela Ryf has some time to catch up after leaving the water.

https://files.fm/u/78sa2hcd#/view/BDMV-Clip84.mov;play

We stay at our position for a while longer and from the corner of our eye, we also witness how one after another, the male age groups start their swim, then the female age groups, while in the meantime, all the professionals are already out of the water. It's all perfectly organized and we can only marvel at how punctual each starting shot is fired.

At some point, when many athletes are on their way to Hawi by bike, we decide to take a small 'spectator break' now. For me, the way leads to the swimming pool, where I do my laps and meet other spectators who take the opportunity to go swimming.

In the meantime, Mom goes back to our car and makes sure that it is still in place - and it is, but our tires are already marked. She decides to look for another parking space before we find our car on the tow truck... Actually, she then discovers a side street where there are no parking prohibition signs anywhere, then quickly change parking spaces and now we can enjoy the race with a safe feeling!

For a short time, we have a Skype call with Dad in Germany, who is watching the competition on television - we learn that Jan Frodeno is in the lead with another athlete, as well as that Patrick Lange has dropped out due to fatigue after 30 miles of cycling.

The time flies by and soon the first athletes will arrive at the transition area in Kona again. Now we have to orient ourselves to where the cyclists will enter Kona again after their 190km route, a nice German man informs us that we should position ourselves at the so-called 'Hot Corner', where the athletes will pass a total of 4 times - so off we go there. We have to wait a few more minutes, then the helicopters are circling over Kona again and shortly after, Frodeno arrives at the transition area first, followed by another athlete two minutes later. What a transition, a few minutes later Frodeno speeds past us in running clothes, at a pace that I probably wouldn't be able to sustain even for a fresh 10 km. We can only marvel and cheer.

https://files.fm/u/2ewj76sd#/view/BDMV-Clip88.mov;play

And so, Lucy Charles is the first woman from the bike, who has built up an almost insurmountable lead of 10 minutes over the absolute favorite Daniela Ryf. After 10 miles of running, Frodeno passes the Hot Corner again, he has already expanded his lead further and at the same second, Daniela Bleymehl arrives in Kona with her bike. We don't know where to look. Gradually, more and more male and female top athletes arrive in Kona and we cheer for all of them. When Lucy Charles passes the Hot Corner for the second time, she is still in the lead, but it is eventually taken from her by Anne Haug.

https://files.fm/u/tzufpwvb#/view/BDMV-Clip90.mov;play (Lucy still in the lead)

https://files.fm/u/snhh3b8q#/view/BDMV-Clip91.mov;play (closely followed by Anne Haug)

https://files.fm/u/ng2g9h8n#/view/BDMV-Clip93.mov;play (Daniela Bleymehl is also up there)

https://files.fm/u/gu8zmyj8#/view/BDMV-Clip94.mov;play (then Damiely Ryf arrives)

At some point, we have to leave our spot at the Hot Corner, because we want to secure a 'cheering spot' at the finish line in time. Through the event reporter, we learn that Jan Frodeno has been able to further expand his lead and is now more than 8 minutes ahead of the second-placed athlete. 'Let these long legs fly' - that was the motto the reporter used to describe Jan Frodeno - and he was right, 'Frodo' seemed to be flying over the hot asphalt.

At the finish line itself, we don't get a spot right at the finish line, but at the finish line marked by an 'Alley of Flags' representing all the nations present and filled with a red carpet.

And then he gets closer and closer - Jan Frodeno is announced by the reporter early on (long before he hits the finish line on Ali'i Drive), the cheers at the finish line start minutes before Frodo arrives. The atmosphere is fantastic. That it will then only be a few seconds until the 'Ironman' runs past us is announced by two Hawaiian boys who run a few hundred meters in front of the winner with lit torches and dressed in hula skirts.

And then he really comes - Jan Frodeno runs past his fans, enters the red carpet and has a smile on his face. He visibly enjoys this moment - he deserves it. We cheer as loud as we can, he has earned it! What an incredible performance this person has accomplished in the last few hours - unique. Although we don't see how Jan Frodeno crosses the finish line, as we are too far away from the finish line, we hear about it through the commentator's comments. With a time of 7:51:13 hours, he not only wins with an 8-minute lead over Timothy O'Donnell but also breaks Patrick Lange's course record from the previous year and also becomes the first German to win the Ironman three times. For us, he is not only the winner of this world championship but also the winner of our hearts - a really likable person who we simply wish the victory. Now I can proudly stroll through Kona with my shirt - thank you, Frodo! :)

https://files.fm/u/bdamf5ch#/view/IMG_2685.mov;play

With Sebastian Kienle, there are ultimately two Germans on the podium for the men, and when Anne Haug arrives as the first woman at the finish line, the German 'triple success' is complete. We can't stop being amazed - everyone had been so sure that Daniela Ryf would definitely win this race. But it turned out differently and we are simply happy to be able to witness this German 'double victory' live.

https://files.fm/u/nrw3qhgw#/view/BDMV-Clip97.mov;play (Anne Haug)

Actually, the audience along the finish straight empties rapidly after the top athletes have arrived here - we would have imagined it differently at a world championship, after all, every single participant performs a sensational performance here.

And so, we continue to cheer for each and every athlete on the finish straight even after most of the professionals have finished the race. We enjoy every second and live in the moment.

But at some point, standing and cheering becomes a bit tiring (what kind of luxury problems do we have compared to all these athletes?!), so we decide to make our way back to the car. On the way there, we pass the running course once again, where some people really give it their all to cheer on the accomplished athletes, the temptation to stay a little longer is great, but somehow we simply feel drawn home.

Our car is still in place (fortunately!!!) and after this unforgettable day, we drive home, where a beautiful sunset awaits us - the fitting end to this day. We observe a moment of silence for all those who are still finishing their race, as the course is open until midnight. The last athletes to cross the finish line at this late hour are even personally greeted by the winners of the Ironman - for a moment, we consider going back to Kona later to be able to witness the official end of the World Championship, but the next day we are already going home, so we don't want to go to bed too late.

So we have a delicious meal, I transfer all the photos and videos from today to the computer, and then we simply fall into bed and dream of this unforgettable day.