Big triathlon party on the Förde for the restart and 20th birthday of the classic. Simon Huckestein in front after a furious race to catch up - Maja Betz can't be caught
perfect conditions
The OstseeMan goosebump feeling is back. With a long triathlon day, Schleswig-Holstein's great long-distance classic reported back in an atmospheric way. Around 1,500 athletes and thousands of spectators celebrated the restart of the northernmost German triathlon of 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.195 km running at the Glücksburg Kurstrand. After a few dark clouds were still hanging over the Baltic Sea at the start of the morning and a few drops were falling, which dampened the euphoria a little, it wasn't long before Glücksburg showed his best face again. Almost perfect conditions with pleasant temperatures and only little wind, together with the usual emotional audience, provided the general conditions that offered the athletes an ambience that encouraged masterly performances or at least iron perseverance. After a few hours, everyone involved on and on the track knew what they had sorely missed in the two-year Corona break.
Two endurance aces win the German championship
The sporting highlights on the long distance, which this year also represented the German Championships in the age groups, were provided by two endurance aces who started at the OstseeMan for the first time. Simon Huckestein from Wetterau, Hesse, clinched the overall victory and the title of German Champion with a furious race to catch up after 8:25:29 hours. As the new women's winner, Maja Betz from SC Ostheim/Rhön was able to celebrate after 9:32:25 hours. The 24-year-old from northern Bavaria took the lead on the bike course and then never relinquished the lead. “Being the first to run was new to me. I'm actually used to catching up when I'm running. When I was in the lead and noticed that one of the pursuers was running faster, I was afraid of being caught for a moment," admitted the new winner, who let the enthusiasm at the side of the track carry her and finally saved her lead safely across the finish line and in the end it also had the fastest runtime. The Czech Simona Krivankova was the second fastest woman after 9:39:21 hours. Local hero Victoria Best from SV Enge-Sande came out of the water in second place and, thanks to a quick change, even went into the lead on the newly cut bike course, where she had to give up the lead at the end of the first of the four laps and later even temporarily on the fourth place. In the final marathon, Best proved her stamina and crossed the finish line after 9:51:39 hours as overall third and German runner-up. Nele Siegmeier from Tri-Team Neumünster followed after 10:12:13 hours as fourth.
A splendid catch-up
The men's race offered the sporting drama that makes for the fascination of a long distance. Lukas Schnödewind from Osterrönfeld was the first to come out of the water and held the lead for the first two of the six laps before Fabian Günther from Hamburg overtook him. But none of the two aces from the north were allowed to celebrate as champions. With a splendid catch-up race, Simon Huckestein snagged victory. The former 800-meter runner unpacked his running class at the marathon, took the lead halfway through the run and crowned his strong debut on the long distance with the championship title. “It really was the best day for me so far, even though I was already exhausted halfway through the run. But then I didn't want to give it up anymore," explained the 36-year-old, who has only been doing triathlon for four years and actually wanted to celebrate his long-distance debut in Roth in July. After a wheel fall, he was eliminated there and decided to try again at the OstseeMan. “I was still quite far behind after the swim. I still knew that I could still get ahead, but also that it would be hard work,” Huckestein reports about his optimism, which he confirmed with one of the fastest marathons in OstseeMan history (2:50:41 hours). Fabian Günther always stayed on the heels of the winner and finished second in 8:28:29 hours. Lukas Schnödewind, on the other hand, dropped out halfway through the marathon. Third place went to Timo Schaffeld from Oberhausen in 8:30:06 hours. Jens Homrighausen from MTV Leck came in 9:41:32 hours as the best Schleswig-Holsteiner in 21st place.
The relay competition
In the relay competition, the women's trio of the Maris IT team with Louisa Obermark, Tatjana Brandt and Sandra Morchner prevailed in a new record time of 8:33:19 hours and was only a quarter of an hour behind the fastest men's relay, which Borener SV (8 :17:27 hours). BSV Radass Matthias Jubt extended the lead set by Flensburg swimmer Jules Bohnert, before the marathon state champion Benjamin Reuter from Kronshagen, who stepped in as a guest starter at short notice, made the victory perfect.
The Baltic Man113
The OstseeMan113, which was held for the third time over half the long distance (1.9 km - 90 km - 21.1 km), was won by Hannah Deuring (Hannover 96/ 4:30:43 hours) and Tim Rieder (Post SV Tübingen/ 4:09 :09 hrs). Rieder prevailed just ahead of Michael Victor (Bad Nauheim/ 4:09:30 hours) and Sven Kiene (Hanover 96/ 4:12:27 hours). In the women's race, Jenny Jendryschik (4:31:16 hours), who started for the Tri-Team Hamburg, was the first to be cheered by the audience as the winner. But Deuring, who started in the second block, beat their time. Third was Hannah Arlom (LG Emsdetten/ 4:33:04 hours).
Registrations for 2023 already open
The OstseeMan 2023 is already planned and registration is already open. All information about the event: www.ostseeman.de
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