Faris Al-Sultan
Faris Al -Sultan ( born January 21, 1978 in Munich) is a German triathlete and multiple Ironman champion (2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013). He was as Ironman Hawaii Champion World Champion of Ironman racing series in 2005. He is in the Hall of Fame German triathletes ( men) out on the Ironman distance.
Sports career
As a 16 -year-old ran Faris Al -Sultan in 1994 his first marathon - with fake age, according to the rules because he was still too young for the burden of a 42,195 -kilometer run. His first Ironman he graduated in 1997 with 19 in Lanzarote, because the minimum age for long-distance triathletes in Germany at the time was 21 years.
At Ironman Hawaii in 1999 he took part for the first time as an amateur and finished third in his age group. 2000 in Kulmbach, he won in 8:22 hours for the first time the German championship on the long distance. 2001 occupied Faris Al-Sultan Ironman Brazil in second place, reaching a 27th place finish at Ironman Hawaii. He was German in Immenstadt champion middle distance, 2002. In 2003 he finished seventh in the Ironman Hawaii.
In 2004 he succeeded to undercut the magical 8 hour mark at the Challenge Roth; as the fastest German, he was once again German champion on the long distance. In addition, Faris Al -Sultan won in 2004 the Half- Ironman St. Croix (2 km swimming, 90 km cycling and 21.1 km running) and took third place at Ironman Hawaii.
2005 Faris Al-Sultan won in Arizona for the first time an organized under license from the commercial Ironman brand races over the complete long distance (3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.195 km running).
Al -Sultan won the 2005 Ironman Hawaii than compensated for most of participants in his third appearance as a professional in 8:14:17 hours before the New Zealander Cameron Brown ( 8:19:36 ) and three-time winner Peter Reid of Canada ( 8:20:04 ). After Thomas Hellriegel (1997) and Normann Stadler (2004) he was thus the third German, who won this competition for themselves.
In the 2006 season, Faris Al- Sultan launched on March 19 in Port Elizabeth / South Africa at Ironman South Africa and finished the race in 5th place. Ironman Hawaii was Faris Al Sultan with a time of 8:19:04 hours third behind Normann Stadler and Chris McCormack. The Challenge Roth on July 2, he finished second behind the Australian Chris McCormack and was thus, as in the 2004 German Champion over the Long Distance Triathlon ( Ironman distance). In addition, he was the Kraichgau Triathlon Festival on the M- distance ( 2/60/14 ), the middle-distance triathlon in Saalfelden in Austria, the Nibelungen Triathlon in Xanten and the Xentis triathlon over the sprint distance in Piberstein ( Austria ) to decide for themselves.
In 2007, Al -Sultan won again the Kraichgau Triathlon Festival on the M- distance ( 2/60/14 ). His scheduled start at the Ironman in Hawaii had Al -Sultan because of influenza which he had suffered during training in San Diego, cancel in the morning before the competition.
In 2008, he competed in the Ironman Malaysia and reached its third overall victory in an Ironman - with an end time of 8:34:42 hours. At the Ironman 70.3 in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he came fourth and the Ironman 70.3 Germany in Wiesbaden he won in 4:10:26 hours.
Faris Al -Sultan is not considered a tactician, but as someone who likes herself takes on the competition scene in his hand, which he takes temporary physical intrusions into buying and talent has, very quickly to recover. Faris Al -Sultan has a right to start for the TV Thalmaessing ( Erststartrecht ) Triathlon Team Witten (second start right ), 3athlon.org eV ( Honorary Membership in the national association) and Free Water Munich ( swimming club ).
In spring 2009, Faris Al-Sultan founded the Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, which existed until the beginning of 2013. Also present were Ina Reinders, Andreas and Andrea Böcherer stein mug.
In August 2010, he reached his fourth Ironman victory over his teammate Andreas Böcherer in Regensburg. In Frankfurt he won on July 24, 2011, and thus became Triathlon European Championships. On 1 July 2012, he won the Ironman Austria and celebrated his sixth Ironman victory.
In May 2013 Faris wins in 8:42:40 - almost 10 minutes ahead of second place, the Spaniard Miquel Blanchart - the Ironman Lanzarote and in the course of European Ironman Championships in Frankfurt is known that Faris Al-Sultan up to and including 2015 for the pewag Austrian racing team from the chain manufacturer pewag will start.
Private
Al- Sultan's father Talib came in 1958 from Iraq to Germany. His mother Lydia is from Munich, where his father worked as a manager of a translation agency.
Faris Al -Sultan attended the Gymnasium München- Moosach. He was at times a student of history and culture of the Middle East at the Ludwig- Maximilians- University of Munich, the study broke off but because he could " make it impossible for both things at the same time ."
Sporting successes
( DNF - Did Not Finish )
Awards
- 2004, 2005 Munich's Sportsman of the Year, the evening newspaper
- 2005 Athlete of the Month October, the German Sports Aid Foundation
- 2005 Bambi in the category Sports
- 2005 5th in the poll for Sportsman of the Year
- 2005 Performance of the Year of the Californian magazine Competitor
- 2007 Bavarian sports award in the category "Ambassadors of the Bavarian Sports"
Publications
- With Christoph Dirkes: triathlon. Motivation - competition - experience. From the right start to a successful finish. West, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-517-08283-7