When the triathlon takes place in Nordhausen for the 19th time on July 17th, the triathletes will be going back to their original roots. The Nordhäuser Triathlon is held around the Sundhäuser See at the Scheunenhof and has different distances up to the Olympic distance for beginners, hobby triathletes and ambitious athletes.
The corona pandemic has also left its mark on triathletes. In both 2020 and 2021, the middle distance in the southern Harz should be the German championship - both times the pandemic-related conditions thwarted the organizers. After an interruption in 2020 due to the pandemic and a limited implementation in 2021, the focus should now be more on triathlon sport.
After seven years of ICAN Nordhausen and the middle distance, starting at Sundhäuser See and ending in downtown Nordhausen in front of the theater, the complete return to the Scheunenhof site also means a return to the point where it all began 19 years ago. "The city of Nordhausen will be covered by a large number of road construction measures this year, so that the old route and an alternative inner-city course would have been irresponsible. We want to continue to provide the athletes with a high level of organizational quality and offer a competition for the whole family. The Scheunenhof area with its short distances, flat stretches and the clear Sundhäuser See offers excellent conditions here,” explains Ulrich Konschak, head of the organization team. This means that there are a few mountains on the bike course for the athletes, but the turning point course is notorious for its susceptibility to wind and has often been compared to the small "Ironman Hawaii".
Despite 19 years of triathlon in Nordhausen, there is a premiere, because for the first time an Olympic distance of 1.5 kilometers swimming, 40 kilometers cycling and 10 kilometers running is included in the program at the Scheunenhof. The popular sprint competition over half of the route will also be offered again. Both races start early in the morning: the shorter sprint starts at 9:30 a.m., while the “Olympic athletes” are sent onto the track just ten minutes later. The races for students, young people and beginners follow after midday. After the beginners (0.4 km swimming, 10 km cycling, 2.5 km running) at 1:30 p.m., students B and C start one hour later, before students D finish at 4:00 p.m . This year, the Thuringian championship titles in the southern Harz will be awarded in the school and youth sector, which should be an additional motivation in the upcoming training, especially for the young Nordhausen athletes. The races are also part of the Central German children's and youth rankings. More information on the schedule, announcement and registration is available at www.triathlon-nordhausen.de
