Six after his second Hawaii victory, Patrick Lange completed the Ironman triple.
Photo: dpa/Ronit Fahl
One of the well-kept rituals at the Ironman Hawaii is that the winner of this mythical ordeal places a typical symbol of affection and respect on his head. As a precaution, Patrick Lange left his blue cap on when the wreath of flowers landed on his head for the third time in his life. The “Haku Lei” also stands for the beauty of an island with which the Hesse native will forever have a special relationship after his third triumph on the Big Island.
The fact that after 2017 and 2018, at the age of 38, he managed to set an incredible course record of 7:35:53 hours was a great satisfaction. The triathlete, who lives in Salzburg and competes for DSW Darmstadt, demonstratively put his index finger on his lips when he reached the finish line. “Don’t listen to the haters, just ignore them,” said the winner, who in his own opinion was often not appreciated enough, explaining the gesture later in the press conference. »Everyone has doubted me for many years. Giving this back to the team and my family means everything to me.” And he revealed: “This is definitely for my mother, who died four years ago.”
Six years ago, Lange successfully proposed marriage to his then partner Julia Hoffmann on the target channel, and now the King of Kona has once again included his own vita in the excitement of victory. A message from his mom would have helped him get the most out of his body in triathlon. “When she was in the hospice and I saw her for the last time, she told me that I should give everything for her and win again.” During her serious illness, Lange from Austria was temporarily unable to be with her because of the Corona restrictions , which also caused him a lot of trouble later on.
The late starter has now finally saved his soul with this tough endurance sport. After training as a physiotherapist, Lange initially worked in his chosen profession. “I had to fight hard until I was almost 30 years old to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional triathlete,” he explained in the summer before the start of the Ironman Frankfurt, where the local hero almost obligatorily broke in. In Hawaii, however, not even an encounter with a jellyfish could stop him. »Those were serious stitches on the ankle, on the thigh, on the face. I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Nevertheless, he came out of the water in fourth place. In swimming, the switch to his new mentor Ben Reszel paid off. After the disaster in Frankfurt, Lange stopped working with his long-time trainer Bjorn Geesmann. Now the eventual winner showed patience in cycling until he calmly switched to his favorite discipline in 13th position – more than nine minutes behind the defending champion Sam Laidlow from France. In the marathon, the German also overtook the Dane Magnus Ditlev and the American Rudy Von Berg, who ultimately ended up in second and third place. A veteran had duped the competition, which was more than ten years younger than him – the eleventh time a German had succeeded in the triathlon mecca.
Overall, Lange swam, cycled and ran at a breathtaking pace. Times under eight hours were considered impossible because of the waves during the 3.86-kilometer swim in the Pacific, the winds during the 180.2-kilometer bike ride and the heat during the 42.195-kilometer run several years ago. It was Lange who was the first to beat the magical mark in the middle of the lava fields in 2018 in 7:52:39 hours.
This means that Germany can look back on a fantastic year for triathlon. Laura Philipp had previously surprisingly won at the Ironman World Championships in Nice – women and men only take turns determining their champion in Hawaii. And then there was Olympic gold in the sprint distance with the mixed relay, when Laura Lindemann, Tim Hellwig, Lisa Tertsch and Lasse Lührs won a medal in Paris for the first time since Jan Frodeno in Beijing in 2008.