The press box was bursting at the seams on Monday morning. The interest in para-triathlon in Paris was huge. With the best view of the Eiffel Tower from the Pont Alexandre III, the athletes finally got to the start. On Sunday, the start was postponed by one day due to poor water quality. Germany was represented by a total of five athletes.
The greatest German hopes for a gold medal lay on Martin Schulz from Leipzig. At 12:20 p.m. he climbed onto the pontoon in the Seine as the defending champion, from which the 750-meter-long swim in the river began. But it was precisely with this discipline – which is actually his strength – that the 34-year-old had problems on Monday and only came out of the water in sixth place. He then gave it his all on the bike, said Schulz after his competition: “I really rode to the absolute limit, both in terms of fitness and concentration.”
His efforts paid off. The initial 50-second gap to the leader gradually disappeared until Schulz was able to take the lead on the bike after about 16 kilometers. However, he was unable to hold on to it until the end. On the five-kilometer run, the German was overtaken by the American Chris Hammer, who won his first Paralympics, and the Brazilian Ronan Cordeiro.
The triathlon hat trick of three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympics was not achieved, but Martin Schulz was satisfied nonetheless. “I think that was the strongest field that para-triathlon has ever seen,” said Schulz. On Monday, tactics were not possible, so his coach did not write down times and gaps on his board as he usually does, but only the names of his girlfriend and son, explained the 34-year-old Schulz – fighting back tears.
Schulz’s training colleague and friend Max Gelhaar had already started his competition. He also didn’t get off to the best start when swimming in the Seine. The situation was chaotic. “At the beginning, everyone was swimming on top of each other,” the 26-year-old described the situation in the water. But his tactic of avoiding the current as best as possible worked.
After the 20-kilometer bike course, the German triathlete took the lead before the Spaniard Daniel Molina came closer on the running lap and quickly overtook Gelhaar. The Dutchman Nico van der Burgt came third. Gelhaar had already suspected after the bike race that he probably wouldn’t win gold. He was nevertheless satisfied. “If I had been there 40 seconds earlier, I might have been a little happier, but I’m very happy with my performance,” said Gelhaar.
Only a year and a half after Anja Renner started para-triathlon, she made her debut on the Paralympic stage on Monday in Paris with her guide Maria Paulig – and immediately won bronze. Despite having the fastest cycling time overall, they only realized this during the run. After the cycling section, the gap to the leaders was already quite large, which is why Renner and Paulig concentrated on maintaining their position and finishing the race solidly – and were rewarded with bronze in the end.
“The result we achieved today shows that we are a great team,” said Renner after the competition. “We trust each other blindly,” added guide Paulig. Communication during the competition was therefore hardly necessary. There were only small discussions in the transition zones and information about the current position during the run.
© IMAGO/GEPA pictures
The other German participants, Neele Ludwig and Elke van Engelen, also performed well. Ludwig finished her triathlon in eighth place, van Engelen came in tenth. All German triathletes were of one mind when it came to the setting. “Paris is a fantastic city, great atmosphere, it was just fun,” said Renner.
“I can’t imagine what it would have been like if we had started on Sunday. There would have been a few thousand more people here. School started again in France today and yet there were so many people here,” said Martin Schulz happily. And Max Gelhaar also took a look to the left and right while cycling and enjoyed the route through the center of Paris.
