Jan Frodeno facts for kids
Jan Frodeno at the 2015 Ironman Germany in Frankfurt am Main.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Frodo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 August 1981 Cologne, Germany |
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| Residence | Girona, Spain (Apr-Oct), Noosa, Australia (Nov-Mar) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other interests | Beach Volleyball, Surfing, Cooking, Coffee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Tri-Sport Saar-Hochwald e. V. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Bahrain Elite Endurance Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Dan Lorang | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jan Frodeno (born 18 August 1981) is a German former triathlete. He is famous for winning the gold medal in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He also won the Ironman World Championship three times (2015, 2016, and 2019). Jan Frodeno is also a two-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (2015 and 2018).
He set a world record for the long-distance triathlon in 2016 in Roth, Germany, with a time of 7 hours, 35 minutes, and 39 seconds. In 2021, he broke his own record. He achieved a new world best time of 7 hours, 27 minutes, and 53 seconds. This happened during a special event called the Tributtle in Allgäu, Germany.
Contents
Jan Frodeno's Triathlon Journey
Early Days and Olympic Gold
Jan Frodeno was born in Cologne, Germany. He started his sports journey as a swimmer in South Africa when he was 15. In 2000, he discovered triathlon and began competing. He moved to Germany to join the Triathlon-Bundesliga. By 2002, he was good enough to qualify for the national team. He trained at the Olympic Training Centre in Saarbrücken.
Before his big Olympic win, his best result was finishing sixth at the 2007 ITU Triathlon World Championships. He also won the German Championship in the same year. From 2005 to 2008, he often placed second or third in various World Cup races.
His gold medal win at the 2008 Summer Olympics was a big surprise. He beat the 2000 Olympic champion, Simon Whitfield, in a very close finish. The favorite to win, Javier Gómez, finished fourth. This amazing victory happened just one day after Jan's 27th birthday.
Continuing Success and New Challenges
After the Olympics, Frodeno kept performing well in 2009 and 2010. He finished fourth overall in the World Championship Triathlon Series both years. In 2010, he was close to becoming World Champion. He only needed a fourth-place finish in the final race in Budapest. However, an injury caused him to finish 41st. This meant he lost the overall title to Javier Gómez.
Frodeno returned to the Olympics in 2012. He competed in the men's triathlon event and finished sixth. In 2013, he decided to stop competing in the shorter triathlon distances. He won a gold medal with the German team in the mixed relay triathlon world championships in Hamburg that year.
Switching to Long-Distance Triathlons
After 2013, Jan Frodeno switched to longer endurance triathlons. He finished second at the 2013 Ironman 70.3 European Championships. He then got his first Ironman 70.3 win in 2014 in Auckland. When he first started, he had said that long-distance triathlons were for people who didn't do well in shorter races. But he proved himself wrong!
He finished third in his first full-length Ironman race. This was at the Ironman European Championship. He also placed third at the 2014 Ironman World Championship in his first attempt at that event.
Becoming an Ironman Champion
In 2015, Jan Frodeno had a cycling injury. This meant he missed an early race. But he came back strong at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, winning the event. He then took second place at Cannes Triathlon and first at Ironman 70.3 Barcelona. He went on to win the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt. He won by over ten minutes and broke the course record. He also won the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
On October 10, 2015, he made history. He became the first triathlete to win both the Olympic Triathlon Gold and the Ironman World Championship title. He started with a strong swim and bike ride. He then finished with one of the fastest marathon runs of the day.
Breaking World Records
On July 17, 2016, in Roth, Germany, he broke the world record for the long distance. He improved it by more than five minutes, finishing in 7 hours, 35 minutes, and 39 seconds. His split times were 45 minutes and 22 seconds for the swim, 4 hours, 9 minutes, and 22 seconds for the bike, and 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 35 seconds for the marathon.
He won his second Ironman World Championship in October 2016. He pulled ahead of his countryman Sebastian Kienle during the run. He didn't have the fastest time in any single part of the race. However, he was very consistent throughout. With Patrick Lange finishing third, it was the first time since 1997 that one country swept the top three spots.
He won his second Ironman 70.3 World Championship in September 2018. He beat fellow Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez. Soon after, he suffered a back injury. This injury kept him out of competition for the rest of the year.
His third Ironman World Championship win came in 2019. This was 13 months after his back injury. He broke the course record by 1 minute and 26 seconds. He finished in 7 hours, 51 minutes, and 13 seconds. He became only the third triathlete to finish the World Championship in under 8 hours.
On July 18, 2021, he set a new personal best time of 7 hours, 27 minutes, and 53 seconds. This was on a long-distance course. His only opponent was Lionel Sanders. The special race was called Tri Battle Royale.
Return and Retirement
After 20 months of injuries, Frodeno returned to triathlon in 2023. He participated in several events. After some initial struggles, he won the PTO US Open in Milwaukee. This was an impressive win against strong competitors. Jan Frodeno finished his amazing career at the Ironman Championships 2023 in Nice. He finished 24th after a tough race. Many people consider Jan Frodeno to be the greatest triathlete of all time.
Personal Life
Jan Frodeno is married to Emma Snowsill. She is also an Olympic gold medalist. She won the women's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
See also
In Spanish: Jan Frodeno para niños
