German turns wrong before the goal and wins anyway

Starting in Hawaii was a childhood dream for him. After a bike accident, she said to herself: 'Life is too short not to do something.' And from then on she wanted to do the Ironman Hawaii. Both of them not only made it to the island, but also amazed with phenomenal performances and were allowed to be celebrated by several thousand spectators in Kailua-Kona at the award ceremony on Sunday evening: Henrike Güber, 29, from Hamburg and Christian Störzer, 41, from Nuremberg. Germany's Hawaii winner in 2022, even though Güber took a wrong turn and ran almost two kilometers too much.

So while the hopes of the professional athletes Anne Haug, Laura Philipp and Patrick Lange to win the Ironman Hawaii this year were not fulfilled, two German age group athletes celebrated a World Cup triumph. Störzer was even the fastest Age Grouper ever. And it would have been Güber if she hadn't gotten lost.

It's an unforgettable day in Kailua-Kona for both of them: while Güber made her Hawaii debut, Störzer fought for the second time on the triathlon island of dreams. After all, not everyone who wants to can compete here. The oldest long-distance race in the world is (with a few exceptions) only reserved for the best - this applies to professionals as well as to age groupers. Anyone can register for other long-distance races, but you have to qualify for Hawaii. This is possible worldwide in all competitions of the Ironman series. Depending on the field of participants, a different number of starting places will be awarded, sometimes only to the winner, sometimes to the first four.

The word amateur athlete is an understatement for many age group athletes on the long distance: They all do triathlon as a lifestyle, as a passion. And if you want to qualify for Hawaii, you have to take on a lot to achieve your dream. In the most intensive phases, Güber trains up to 20 hours a week, Störzer up to 25 – alongside his job. She is a federal police officer, he is a pilot, reduced to 75 percent two years ago. And yet: This is only possible if the family, life partner or friends go with you.

“We have the whole family behind us. Otherwise such a performance would not be possible,” says Störzer's wife Stefanie, who traveled with their twelve-year-old daughter to cheer them on; the younger daughter stayed at home. The couple got to know each other when they were young – because they both run triathlons in a club (RWO Endurance Team). "Today I'm more of a supporter," she says. Last year, however, they competed together in a middle-distance relay. A friend as a swimmer, he as a cyclist, she as a runner. "It was really nice to stand on the podium as a family," says Stefanie Störzer.

While some athletes try for years, even decades, to qualify and even then only very few succeed, Güber succeeded in her first long distance. In 2015 she discovered triathlon for herself, in 2019 she made her long-distance debut in Italy and secured the Hawaii slot there. Güber does not come from swimming, cycling or running. She used to play soccer. After a bike accident in 2018, she bought a new bike, hired a trainer and set herself the lofty goal of qualifying for Hawaii straight away. It succeeded.

That it took her from 2019 to 2022 to get on the plane is because the 2020 and 2021 Hawaii races were canceled due to the pandemic. Now it was time.

Störzer, who had temporarily stopped triathlon because of his job and knee problems and then rode racing bikes intensively for ten years, has been back in the sport since 2017. Acupuncture, among other things, helped the knee. Everything has happened very quickly since his long-distance debut in Roth in 2018: another long-distance, then Hawaii 2019 (tenth place after an illness), and the age group win at the catch-up World Championships in Utah in May. "Honestly," says the 41-year-old, "secretly, it was my big goal to be the best age grouper here."

Both prepared for the heat with sauna sessions, Störzer also with warm baths after training, and Güber went a step further: running sessions in summer with warm sportswear, roller training with the windows closed and the heating slightly turned up. "The preparation was hard, and it also means giving up," she says. But for the dream of finishing in Hawaii, do without everything that brings you joy? No, she didn't want that. "You treat yourself to a glass or two of wine," says Güber. "And I eat sweets too. It's supposed to be fun."

The training, the heat adaptation - it helped. Güber triumphed in the 25-29 age group with a time of 9:40.14 hours, which was also the second fastest time of the day for any age group athlete. Her splits: 1:09:54 hours for the 3.86km swim, 4:59:03 hours for the 180km bike ride and 3:24:56 hours for the final marathon. For comparison: The winner of the professional race, Chelsea Sodaro (USA), needed 8:33:46 hours, Anne Haug as third 8:42:22 hours. "I never expected the time and the placement," says Güber. "All in all, it was super awesome here in Hawaii, a unique experience."

Even the overall victory of all age group athletes would have been possible - if she hadn't gotten lost. 300 meters from the finish. Güber turned left onto Alii Drive - as at the beginning of the marathon course - instead of turning right towards the finish. She ran and ran. "Then someone I know ran behind me," she says. "I then turned around, but I was completely disoriented and went wrong again."

In the end, only 2:45 minutes were missing and the Hamburg native would have been the fastest age group athlete ever. Not only that she ran 1.8 kilometers too much and lost time. Her body was at the end of it: "I'm so glad I did it. I collapsed right after the finish. lamps off. I was at the limit.” The last aid station was at 40.4 kilometers, so Güber ran 3.6 kilometers without cooling, without drinking. And that in the heat and after all the time she's been on the road. "My body couldn't take it anymore. It was all about willpower,” she says. "I also vomited several times afterwards." However, she recovered quickly. "Luckily."

Störzer also looks quite fit the day after his race. And that at this end time: 8:31:26 hours (splits: 0:57:10; 4:29:06; 2:59:05). Professional winner Gustav Iden from Norway needed 7:40:24 hours, Sebastian Kienle as the best German 7:55:40 hours. Störzer says of the last few kilometers: “You run, you concentrate, then you get a flurry of emotions – I almost had tears in my eyes. Then concentrate again, run,” he describes. Redemption came at the finish. Now he is considering trying it as a professional for a year.

These German athletes also made it onto the podium: