So Andreas Dreitz can’t really believe it. His career was in jeopardy following a serious wheel fall, but now he’s standing on a hill in Kailua-Kona, looking down at the Pacific Ocean. The 33-year-old will swim there at the Ironman Hawaii on Saturday. “It feels so good to be here on this island with all these crazy people,” he says. “It’s so much better than spending time in doctor’s waiting rooms.”
That Dreitz can now be here in the German House at the Ironman Hawaii is anything but a matter of course. It was almost five months ago that his race at the World Championships in Utah ended abruptly. At 82 kilometers and at 85 km/h he collided with a motorbike – Dreitz had no chance, it wasn’t his fault that he ended up in the hospital instead of at the finish line. After difficult weeks, he is now counting down the days until the legendary race in Hawaii.
The 33-year-old can hardly judge how strong he is at the moment, but the most important thing: he no longer has any problems or restrictions. And: “I’m in a very improving form, I was able to complete very good units, especially in swimming and running, which give me a lot of self-confidence. Even when cycling recently,” he says. “But it’s difficult to classify where I actually stand.”
His way was blocked, no chance
He would not have been one of the top favorites for a podium place before, but he certainly would have had outsider chances at his fourth Ironman World Championship. Because of the accident in Utah and the following break in training, Dreitz doesn’t see the point of throwing all goals overboard. “I would be lying to myself if I said, ‘My goal is the top ten.’ Even if the top ten is a very realistic goal given the circumstances – not stacked too low, but not set too high either,” he says. “But my goal just has to be more, I want to keep moving forward. Whether that will work this year is questionable, but not impossible.”
Review: On May 7th, the Ironman World Championship, which was canceled in Hawaii in October due to the pandemic, will be rescheduled in St. George. Dreitz is doing well in the race and looks strong on the bike. But suddenly he disappears in the meantime, and the TV cameras can’t find him either. About half an hour later, it is said that he probably had a collision with one of the organizer’s media motorcycles.
Dreitz remembers: “It was a descent that ended in a bottleneck. Three motorcyclists were in front of me, two were on the far left and braked, the third drove completely into my lane and then braked.” His path was blocked. “I didn’t have a chance to dodge, only the opportunity to hit the motorcycle, slide into the spectators or into oncoming traffic. All not good options, especially when you’re doing 85 km/h.”
An extremely rare injury
The diagnosis – in addition to bruises and abrasions: a broken spinous process and a broken transverse process of the lumbar spine. “Painful, but relatively uncomplicated,” says Dreitz. “It’s usually just a matter of time before it heals.” The consequences were more problematic. Because the fact that it healed automatically also meant that Dreitz was initially not allowed to do much in the back area and the trunk muscles receded a bit, which he then had to slowly build up once more.
Before the fall: Andreas Dreitz at the World Championships in St. George
Quelle: pa/Eibner-Presse/Eibner-Pressefoto/Beaut.Sports/Hilger
Only a little later, during further examinations, it was found that a muscle in the left thigh had been almost completely torn off: the tension band width (Latin for thigh band stretcher or thigh fascia stretcher). Dreitz explains: “He has a key function when the leg muscles reach the limits of their work. Especially when it’s put under quite a lot of stress over a long period of time.” And that’s exactly what long-distance triathletes do.
The chances that Dreitz might do sports once more were good. However, it was unclear whether it would also be enough for top-class sport. He was only able to get back in very carefully. Forced end of career? That was possible. At first, none of the doctors might tell him in which direction things would go. “For one thing, the injury is extremely rare. And then there’s the fact that the muscle is actually irrelevant for everyday life,” he explains. “Which is good at first, because a lot can happen with a fall like this, and the fact that only one’s sporting career was endangered is still a minor evil compared to other possible consequences. I had a lot of guardian angels.” And yet this uncertainty. will this be once more
The processing of the accident is tough
The fall didn’t just have physical consequences. And since it was someone else’s fault, there was and still is a lot to be clarified. “It’s very tough,” says Dreitz. “And of course that doesn’t make it any easier to close with it. Undoubtedly, the damage was huge.” And he’s not just talking regarding his bike, which is completely broken.
Basically it was his whole season. And triathletes are their own bosses without association structures, they invest time and money. “And then you hope to get it all back in the form of prize money, bonuses etc. But first of all you make a clear advance payment, ”explains Dreitz. Prize money and bonuses were now eliminated. Also visibility for his sponsors, plus the medical expenses. “Let’s see if and which insurance will pay for the treatment costs. In any case, there is a lot of additional bureaucracy that you don’t really want to deal with as an athlete.”
Great success: Andreas Dreitz celebrates winning the Challenge Roth 2019
Source: pa/dpa/Daniel Karmann
Now, these days in Hawaii, sport is finally in the foreground once more. And thanks to a wildcard from the organizer. The accident robbed him of his chance to qualify in Utah. In view of the injuries, his hopes of still securing the starting place through a sporting qualification for a long distance in the summer were too high. Time was running out for him during the healing process and rebuilding, a long distance was no longer possible. “Of course I’m very happy that I can play in the concert of the big ones once more,” says Dreitz regarding the wildcard. “As a small reparation, sort of.”
Now he’s hoping for exactly what most others fear: strong, gusty winds on race day. Also rain. As a strong cyclist, that would suit him. “The more wind, the tougher the race, the better my chances are,” he says. “And if I see an opportunity, then I want to take it.”
However, whether the thigh muscle will actually hold up on October 8th is not something that can be easily tested beforehand. Because without a competition, Dreitz doesn’t even get into the area where the muscles make the difference. He has contested one race since then, but over half the distance. “It has not yet been finally clarified whether it is one hundred percent good once more or not.”
