Fascination Ironman
Welcome to our series of webclips about the current Ironman World Champion Sebastian Kienle who will try to defend his title on Saturday 10th October 2015 in Kona.
The Ironman World Championship has been bringing the world's best athletes together in competition for 35 years.
Conceived in 1977, the first 'Hawaiian IRON MAN Triathlon' started as a way to challenge athletes who had been successful at endurance
swimming, running and biathlon events.
The three toughest endurance races in Hawaii are:
- The 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim
- The 112 miles of the Around-O’ahu Bike Race
- The 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon
Judy and John Collins, a Navy couple based in Honolulu, came up with the idea of combining the three races into one event, and the triathlon began in Waikiki. In 1981 it relocated to the
barren lava fields of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Reigning World Champion Sebastian Kienle looks at the phenomenon that is Ironman Triathlon and answers the question of what it is that fascinates so many people about this sport. He gives us his verdict and pays special respects to the 'age-groupers'.
We also hear from Austrian age grouper Erich Artner, a double amputee, who lives out the fascination of this increasingly popular sport at the 70.3 Ironman World championship in Zell am See, Austria. We follow Artner throughout the race in Zell am See and shine a light on how competing in Ironman races has given him a self-confidence boost that helped him to deal with his disability.
Short finish line interviews with other age group athletes in Zell am See about the fascination of Ironman round off this clip. Exciting and well worth watching!
Part 2 of this series, Sebastian Kienle – The Defending Champion, is here.
