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Ironman Duisburg: Jonas Weller in Hawaiian form!
Duisburg. Jonas Weller is unstoppable. Literally. After his second place at the Duathlon World Championships and victory at the Ironman Hamburg, he was now the first to cross the finish line at the Ironman Duisburg over the half-distance, securing victory in 3:49:49 hours. The athlete from Ratzeburger SV called his performance an “announcement”. For comparison: Frederic Funk won in 3:50:24 hours at the Ironman 70.3 of the professionals taking place at the same time in Zell am See, Austria, where cracks from the scene such as Sebastian Kienle took part. Although Weller put it into perspective, the route would probably have been easier in Duisburg. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he is “very satisfied” with his performance. “The power is right.”
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Hawaii in your head, Duisburg asphalt under your wheels
He improved when swimming, felt good, only the breathing rhythm didn’t quite fit. Weller got on his bike in 26th place. “I decided to take a risk,” he says in retrospect. Testing limits was the order of the day: “Also with regard to Hawaii. I wanted to see what’s possible.” In the most famous triathlon in the world, Weller will start in October together with his Ratzeburg teammates Karsten Weyland, Volker Sonnenburg and Tim Sonnenburg (all of them also qualified).
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Hawaii on his mind, the Duisburg asphalt under his wheels: Weller overtook opponent following opponent until he almost ran out of air. But he found them once more while running. On lap two he overtook the Belgian Lukas Bosmans, and with a 45-second lead before the final lap, he thought he was on the safe side. What he didn’t know: Bosmans had already been overtaken by last year’s winner Timo Schaffeld. The native of Oberhausen pushed once more – but it wasn’t enough. In the end, Weller won with an extremely tight lead of six seconds.
Death at Ironman Duisburg – “didn’t notice anything”
After the award ceremony and on the way home, there was another shocking moment: Weller learned from the local radio that Rolf Felber, who was well-known in the scene, had collapsed. The 67-year-old “Iron Rolf” had to be rescued from the water and resuscitated shortly following the start – but without success. Felber passed away. “You didn’t notice anything at the event,” reports Weller. Even followingwards, for example at the award ceremony, there was apparently no information from the organizer.
