‘You don’t want to miss this race’ … this year’s participants…
While the current season for most European triathletes has already come to an end and they’re probably enjoying a well-deserved rest, nevertheless it’s time to plan for the upcoming season! The Championship 2019 will take place on 2nd of June in Samorin, Slovakia. Hundreds of participants have called this CHALLENGEFAMILY‘s most iconic race and it’s the seasonal goal for more and more athletes to qualify for this event. There are multiple ways to do this.
At every CHALLENGEFAMILY full and middle distance race, both the best five male and female Pros qualify for The Championship. Winners from the Kona and 70.3 World Championships, the ITU series, Super League Triathlon and Olympic Champions will also be be invited to participate. Beside the Pros, the best six male and female Age Groupers (from each category and each race) will qualify together with the best six best male, female and mixed relays. After eight weeks of qualifying, CHALLENGEFAMILY will apply a ‘roll down system’. If the qualified athletes choose not to use their tickets to race The Championship, these will be offered to the next athlete (max: top 12). The Championship is CHALLENGEFAMILY’s Middle Distance World Championship and is one of the few races where the new ’20 meter non-drafting rule’ for Pros is applied.
One of last year’s participants, Thomas Geiger, claims there is probably no real reason to miss the opportunity to race at Samorin. ,,This race is so well organized. Everything is taken care of. The surroundings are amazing, the course is fast and the finish venue is stunning. In addition, you have the opportunity to race amongst the best athletes in the world. You are part of a race where history is written. And it’s so much more than ‘just’ racing. Most of the athletes come together in the same hotel (X-Bionic Sphere) and have the chance to meet in the days leading up to and after the race.”
Geiger isn’t ‘just’ a triathlete. He finished every edition of CHALLENGEROTH, so he clearly knows what he’s talking about. Garth Barfoot from New Zealand, a Championship participant from 2017, not only supports Geiger’s opinion but is above all a very special athlete because he was 81 years old when he finished his race at Samorin. He really loved it. ,,I predict this World Championship will grow bigger and bigger. I’ve done a lot of World Championships, I guess I’ve done more than most people to be honest, but this course is as good as it gets. It’s achievable. Even I could do it.”
The initial qualification races for 2019 have already taken place, the first being CHALLENGEWANAKA in New Zealand, but there are a further 36 other CHALLENGEFAMILY races to qualify before the last opportunity at CHALLENGEHEILBRONN in May 2019.
