Fantastic in Frankfurt: Kienle and Abraham

Monday 07 July 2014
Since it began in 2002, the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt has routinely attracted one of the strongest IRONMAN race fields of the year and this year was no exception as a who’s who of the sport arrived in Germany to vie for the title.

Happy birthday Sebastian
Earlier this year Sebastian Kienle was quite happy to tell the world that 2008 Olympic champion Jan Frodeno was virtually unbeatable over the IRONMAN 70.3 distance. When Frodeno wasn’t invited to the press conference at IRONMAN 70.3 California, Kienle told the press that the winner of the race was back in his hotel room, probably riding a wind trainer to prepare. The next day, as Kienle predicted, Frodeno dominated.

A few months later, though, Kienle was quite happy to tell everyone that Frodeno could very well dominate his debut IRONMAN race, but you could tell that the two-time IRONMAN 70.3 world champion was going to be happy to keep his countryman honest and make him work for a win.

After leading out of the water, Frodeno looked to be in control of his first full-distance effort, but then got waylaid by not one, not two but three flat tires, his first flats of 2014. By the time he was back on his bike and riding with a new wheel courtesy of bike support, he was well back of the leaders, who happen to be amongst the best riders in the sport.

Frederik Van Lierde, last year’s IRONMAN world champion, was out of the water with Frodeno, and quickly moved to the front of the race. Kienle, who had come out of the water four minutes behind, worked his way up to the front of the race before the end of the first lap. After biding his time behind Van Lierde for 5 km, he hammered to the front of the race on the famous “Heartbreak Hill” climb that, as is tradition here in Frankfurt, was jammed with spectators.

From that point on the race was, in essence, over. Kienle was off the bike 5:36 ahead of Van Lierde and over 17 minutes ahead of a group that included Frodeno and Andreas Raelert, the man who has the fastest full-distance finish time in history to his credit. 

Once on the run Kienle continued to shut the door on the rest of the competition thanks to the fastest marathon of his career, a 2:49:35. While Van Lierde would eventually run a few seconds faster, he never threatened for the win. Frodeno flew through parts of the run, but was forced to walk at others as he fought a series of cramps. Despite all he challenges of the day, Frodeno’s 2:43 marathon earned him a solid third. Ronnie Schilknecht hung tough for fourth, while Alessandro Degasperi rounded out the top five. Raelert, obviously still suffering from the injury that sidelined him for much of last year, dropped out during the marathon.

Abraham has all the answers
Anyone who saw Corinne Abraham dominate a strong field in Melbourne last year had a pretty good feeling she would be the woman to beat by the end of the bike ride in Frankfurt today. As his her norm, Jodie Swallow led out of the water, followed a few seconds later by her teammate Mary Beth Ellis. (Both are trained by Siri Lindley.) 

The two enjoyed a lead of two minutes on New Zealand’s Gina Crawford and over four minutes on defending women’s champ, Camilla Pedersen, who was competing just 10 months after a bike accident forced doctor’s to put her in an induced coma. Abraham was over seven minutes down starting the bike.

Throughout the ride Swallow and Ellis traded leads, while the rest of the women seemed to gradually gain time on them as they worked their way through the bike. The end result was a jam-packed transition area at the end of the ride that saw the first nine women all off the bike within four minutes of each other: Swallow first, followed by Ellis, Abraham, Pedersen, Eva Wutti, Natascha Badmann, Sonja Tajsich, Crawford and Amy Marsh.

Through the first half of the marathon it looked like Swallow might hold off the speedsters behind her, but at 22 km Abraham managed to get by. She never looked back and cruised to her second major title after the big win at the IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship Melbourne last year. Kristin Moller ran her way to fourth, while Amy Marsh rounded out the top five. That left super-woman, 47-year-old Natascha Badmann in sixth, with Swallow in seventh and Ellis in eighth.
by Kevin Mackinnon ironman.com (photo: Getty Images)


Coming Triathlon Events View all

eagleXman

Assergi, Italy

TriBourne 226

Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Kaike triathlon

Yonago, Tottori, Japan

Outlaw Triathlon

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Wild Siberia Xtreme

Lake Cheybek-Kohl, Siberia, Russian Federation

Starvation Extreme

Starvation Reservoir, Utah, United States

Norseman Xtreme

Geilo, Norway

Ostseeman

Glucksburg, Germany

Slovakman 226

Pieštany, Slovakia

Greatman Kornik

Kornik, Poland

Ironman Lake Placid

Lake Placid, United States

Ironman Leeds

Leeds, United Kingdom

Ironman Canada Ottawa

Ottowa, Canada

Ironman Kalmar Sweden

Kalmar, Sweden

Ironman Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Ironman Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia

Ironman Switzerland

Thun, Switzerland

Ironman Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS MEN

Nice, France

Ironman Japan South Hokkaido

Hokkaido, Japan

TRI Boulder

Boulder, CO, United States

Castle to Coast

Windsor to Brighton, United Kingdom

Sourdough Triathlon

Chatanika, Alaska, United States

Timisoara Triathlon

Timisoara, Romania

The Gauntlet Belvoir Castle Triathlon

Belvoir Castle, United Kingdom

Trumer Triathlon

Obertrum am See, Austria

Honeymoon Half Gravel Tri

Honeymoon Bay BC, Canada

TriBourne 113

Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Garmin Tri Tour Goldap

Goldap, Poland

Route 66 Half

Springfield, IL, United States

70.3 Ecuador

Manta, Ecuador

70.3 Oregon

Salem OR, United States

70.3 Ohio

Sandusky, United States

70.3 Boise

Boise Idaho, United States

70.3 Maine

Augusta, United States

70.3 Calgary

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

70.3 Krakow

Kraków, Poland

70.3 Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

70.3 Lapu Lapu

Cebu, Philippines

70.3 Hradec Kralove

Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Triathlon News & Media Blogs View all

IRONMAN Lake Placid Pro Series Start List

IRONMAN Lake Placid Pro Series Start List

Friday 18 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

On Sunday, July 20, the IRONMAN® Pro Series™ returns to New York’s Adirondack Mountains when over 80 of the world’s top professional triathletes toe the start line at the iconic Athletic Brewing IRONMAN® Lake Placid triathlon. The event will offer a maximum of 5,000 points towards IRONMAN® Pro Series standings, a $125,000 USD event total pro prize purse, and four qualifying slots for each gender to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship® triathlon in Nice, France (men’s race) and Kona, Hawai`i (wom more

70.3 Ecuador Pro Start List

70.3 Ecuador Pro Start List

Friday 18 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

Welcome to a very special edition! In 2025, we celebrate 10 years of history, dedication, and passion—a decade filled with emotions, con- quered challenges, and thousands of athletes crossing a finish line that has become a symbol of pride for the entire region. more

Little Elm, Texas to Host New IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon in 2026

Little Elm, Texas to Host New IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon in 2026

Monday 14 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

IRONMAN®, the global leader in long-distance triathlon, announced today that it will host the new IRONMAN® 70.3® Dallas-Little Elm triathlon in 2026. The new event is scheduled to make its debut on Sunday, March 15, 2026, beginning at Little Elm Park and traversing through the town of Little Elm and the North Texas countryside. General registration for the new event opens on July 23, 2025, more

Julie Derron Wins IRONMAN Vitoria Gasteiz 2025

Julie Derron Wins IRONMAN Vitoria Gasteiz 2025

Monday 14 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

The 2025 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz, held on Sunday, July 13th in the Basque Country of Spain, saw a commanding victory in the women's professional race and some fierce competition in the age-group categories. more

Kat Matthews, Harry Palmer Crowned IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea Champions

Kat Matthews, Harry Palmer Crowned IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea Champions

Sunday 13 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

The South Coast of Wales was the sunny setting for this weekend’s race, as the IRONMAN Pro Series™ landed in the UK for the first time ever. Harry Palmer of Great Britain retained his IRONMAN® 70.3® Swansea title, while Kat Matthews claimed her second IRONMAN Pro Series win of the season. more

Facebook


YouTube


Sign up for FREE NEWSLETTER:

We will never share your email address or spam you.