German age grouper shatters Ironman age group world record
Father of three sets new world best at Ironman Hamburg
Photo by:
Frank Wechsel
Germany’s Lars Wichert, a two-time Olympic rower, just finished the Ironman European Championship in Hamburg in 7:50:42, shattering the world-best age group time for an Ironman by over six minutes.
The previous record was set by New Zealand coach, Dr. Dan Plews, who went 7:56:56 to win Ironman Sacramento last year.
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Wichert, a father of three, turns 38 in November, and works 25 hours a week for Germany’s Triathlon Magazine as an editor. In addition to his two Olympic appearances, he won three gold medals at the World Rowing Championships, along with a silver and a bronze.
Wichert finished the swim in 3.8-km swim 57:48, the 180-km bike in 4:03:55 and ran the 42.2-km marathon in 2:41:48, with a total time of 7:50:42. That put him just over five minutes ahead of the second age grouper overall, Australia’s Chris Beckmans, who also would have broken Plews’ record with his 7:55:55 finish.
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After the race Wichert told his boss, Triathlon publisher Frank Wechsel, that he wouldn’t be asking for any vacation time to head to Kona for the Ironman World Championship – he’s planning on competing at the second Ironman European Championship event in Frankfurt, then heading to the prestigious Norseman Xtri race.
