2023-10-18 06:00:00
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With a smile on her face: Nadine Schmidt from Butzbach on the home stretch of the women’s Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. © Tanja Weber
Nadine Schmidt from Butzbach finishes the Ironman in Hawaii. Here she takes us along the route.
(web). Nadine Schmidt from Butzbach competed in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii for the first time last weekend. She crossed the finish line in daylight following a strong 11:09 hours!
The Ironman in Hawaii, widely considered the toughest triathlon in the world, was held as an all-women’s race for the first time in history last Saturday. Over 2,000 participants took on the challenges of 3.86 km swimming in the Pacific, 180.2 km cycling and 42.2 km running. Schmidt was also among the 144 German participants. She looks back: “Being able to stand here on the starting line is a very special feeling. When I took part in the Maibach Triathlon in 2013 for fun, I was fascinated by the Maibach-Frankfurt-Hawaii banner. Ten years later, a lifelong dream has actually come true for the customs officer.
The starting signal was fired at 6:40 a.m. at dawn on Saturday and almost 300 athletes in the 35 age group took part in the mass start in the first discipline. The participants swam 1900 meters parallel to the coast, passed a turning buoy and then returned to the starting point. Schmidt completed the 3.86 kilometers in a very good time of 1:06:18 hours. A special feature of the race on the volcanic island: You don’t have to wear a wetsuit because the Pacific is too warm.
The cycling initially led over Palani Road and the Kuakini Highway to a turning point and back once more. The athletes then turned onto the heart of the route, the Queen Kaahumanu Highway. This was continued until the northern turning point in Hawi at kilometer 100. There was a longer climb to be overcome here, otherwise the route was rather undulating at 1772 meters in altitude. Over the 180.2 kilometers, the Wetterau woman worked her way up to eleventh place in her age group with an excellent time of 5:09:36 hours.
Affected by coughing fits
The final marathon became a mental challenge for Schmidt. While she was on the bike, she had to struggle with coughing fits that continued on the run and made it difficult to breathe. The triathlete felt anything but strong from the start of the run. First we went south on Alii Drive and then on the highway towards the airport. Shortly following the half marathon mark, the famous Energy Lab was waiting for the athletes. Several race-decisive moments took place here in the history of the Ironman Hawaii. This section of the route is notorious for its pitfalls. The heat burned mercilessly from above and was reflected in the black asphalt. The local runner fought her way forward step by step with a very measured pace. Your goal: turn into the magical home straight in Kona!
»The marathon was more of a hiking day, but I thought regarding the motto of the race; Holomua – which means something like move forward,” says Schmidt. The words of an athlete friend provided further mental support: “Just put one foot in front of the other when things get tough while running.”
»The greatest support was my friend and trainer Timo, who motivated me once more and once more and told me what a fantastic achievement I had already achieved. That’s how I motivated myself not to give up!” Finally, with a marathon time of 4:45 hours, Schmidt reached the finish as a “daylight finisher” in 11:09:46 hours and was happy regarding the famous words. »You are an Ironman«. This placed her in 73rd place in the first third of the W35. A total of 263 athletes crossed the finish line in this age group!
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