“We Really Can’t Believe It All”As Thomas Pignade, sports director of triathlon at DSW Darmstadt, puts it: “And maybe sometime in 2040 someone will say: do you remember, 2021, we’ve never had a year like this again”. Shortly before Joule Behrens won the gold medal at the World Championships, there was also a special award off the racetrack. Benjamin Knobloch from the German Triathlon Union on the eve of the Junior World Championships “Young Trainer of the Year” has been chosen. “I see this award not only as a reward for the successes of the past few months, but as a recognition of my coaching work over the past 20 years”, explained “Penny” Garlic, which rates DSW triathletes’ most successful year as “an almost logical result of hard work and good conditions.” His philosophy: “Customize training methods for the athlete, not the athlete for the training methods.” The coach derives a certain satisfaction from the many successes, but also feels that “the pressure on the shoulders, because the air is getting thinner and thinnerHe sees himself and the club as responsible for continuing to offer optimal conditions to the athletes. The city’s support is a valuable cornerstone in the new Nordbad and in times of lockdown, it is becoming more and more difficult to do justice to amateur athletes.