I can't remember the last time I stayed up half the night to watch a live sporting event… For the women's Olympic triathlon of 26. July 2021 in Tokyo it was that time again. The documentary "Nicola Spirig – in 18 months from pregnancy to Olympic medal?The "The New Year", which was shown on Swiss television before the start, not only bridged the waiting time until shortly before midnight, but also increased interest in how this question would be answered.
It was not quite enough, the mortgage of 68 seconds behind after the swim weighed too heavy – Nicola Spirig finished 6th after an excellent race. She finished first in her fifth Olympic Games, earning her second Olympic diploma after winning gold in 2012 and silver in 2016.
During the race, memories came back to me, making the broadcast an emotional experience. I like to remember my active triathlon time with some unforgettable moments – and special ones, which triggered individual phases of the race.
The start had been postponed by fifteen minutes due to rain and storm, which led the commentator, Christof Sterchi, to ask the expert Christoph Mauch (who was active at the same time as me, although at a significantly higher level) whether this often happens. Mauch said that this is very rare, because rain does not matter when you get wet on the bike.
It was in 2004 at Ironman Korea in Seogwipo on Jeju Island that I experienced such a shift. Huge waves made a swim start impossible, which of course did not suit me as a good swimmer. So the start was pushed back first and the athletes were later sent out on the bike course in 5-second intervals. I especially remember that quite a few of the predominantly Asian participants used this interruption for a cigarette break (!) took advantage.
From the first discipline, swimming, various experiences have remained with me. For example, Embrun 1990, where we swam in the semi-darkness behind canoes with torches that showed us the way. And where I was going so fast that I first paused for a few minutes in the transition area so as not to be tempted to join the leaders on the bike… Or of course Hawaii 1989, where before the start a priest says a prayer and then as if out of nowhere – without a countdown – the starting gun goes off. One of the few swims that, thanks to the divers who secure the race and, of course, the great variety of fish, also provides visual experiences.
Embrun was also the hardest bike course I had ever done in a triathlon. This section of the Embrunman is with 188 kilometers longer than usual (180 km) and also has about 5'000 meters of altitude difference. The highest point to overcome is the Col d'Izoard, which is often also ridden in the Tour de France. And when you think you are close to the transition area, there is first another ramp of eight kilometers and about 370 meters of altitude with up to 15 percent gradient to overcome.
But the rain race in Tokyo also reminded me of the 1989 European Championships in Rødekro, Denmark. The evening before the race, heavy rain had set in, which lasted for a long time even during the race. In contrast to some members of the Swiss national team (at that time I could also participate without nomination), who struggled with these conditions, I could accept this as unchangeable and make the best out of it – my personal best time on the Ironmandistance. Not least thanks to my fastest marathon in a triathlon.
This one remains unforgettable not only because of the time. There was the one athlete from the Swiss team who suddenly came towards me because he had lost his way – or the other who stopped in shock when I overtook him…
And of course there was the run in Nice, which I actually wanted to give up when I would meet my coach. But it had moved further from its original position where I had seen it from the bike. Until I finally met him, I was already so far that I ran the race to the end anyway. And in between times had to take a shower on the beach because I had caught a wrong bidon with which I wanted to cool down by emptying the contents over my head. It was cola!
Memories are what remain from this time, unforgettable of course the finish in Hawaii. For times and ranks I have to look in my records each time, that has lost meaning. Connected to these memories are also emotions that are not only strong then, but still strong today. And which come up again when I follow races like the one in Tokyo – or the women's mountain bike race the other morning with the triple Swiss success by Jolanda Neff, Sina Frei and Linda Indergand.
And that's what sport is all about. Also for this we do sport.