"I am very happy"

Right in the middle was Frederick Funk from Team Erdinger Active! The young professional triathlete from Unterwössen, who took his first steps at Triathlon Grassau, delivered a strong performance and finished an excellent fifth in the hours of 3:14:56! “I’m really happy,” Funk told our sports department. “It also means a lot to me that I was able to showcase my performance in such a world-class arena.” His coach Dan Lorang also sent a congratulation to his pupil via Instagram: “A result you can be really proud of,” wrote the coach, who also cares for two top German triathletes, Jane Frodeno and Anne Hogg.

However, Frederick Funk also said: “Things were not as I wanted them to be.” He said that even when he was swimming, he was doing very well. “But it was very hard and very fast,” he insisted. Funk, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied with his performance on the bike at all – his favorite discipline, in fact. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have my normal strength,” he admitted. And so he couldn’t act “as I had actually planned”. Funk was in the chasing group, which also included two Norwegians, Eden and Blumenfelt.

It got turbulent while running. There were constant changes in the situation. “The power density is really high at this stage,” Funk said. He felt it too. “In the beginning I was fifth, then fourth, third, then fourth, fifth, sixth and then finally fifth.” His recipe for success in this race was: “I was very focused and focused and only looked forward.”

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In the end, the prize was a top spot in the race, with a total prize money of US$1 million. “It makes me confident and optimistic for the next race,” said Funk. » And I know there is still potential and things can continue to improve.«

Funk is now hoping he gets “a wildcard with his performance” for the Collins Cup in Samorin. On 20 August, teams from Europe, USA and International will again determine their master at the X-Bionic-Sphere-Arena. Then the US Open in Dallas and the Ironman World Championships 70.3 in St. George are still on the young athlete’s schedule, having already won the Kaiserwinkel-Walchsee Challenge this year. There too, Frederick Funk can be expected.