Three days until the starting gun of the Ironman Lanzarote. On Saturday, May 23 at 07:00 hours, more than 1,300 triathletes will jump into the water of Puerto del Carmen and begin their peculiar adventure in the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias Triathlon. All with the same objective; to reach the finish line and obtain the satisfaction of completing the toughest triathlon in the world.
Most of the 1,345 triathletes who will participate in the 18th Ironman Lanzarote are already on our island and are finalizing their preparation these days. The first to arrive have been the professional triathletes, who are obliged to fight to win. These are days when the roads of Lanzarote are filled with triathletes, trying to squeeze the most out of their fine-tuning.
The Belgian Bert Jammaer, winner of the 2008 edition, starts as the favorite in this edition. The Estonian Ain Alar Juhanson, two-time winner of the Ironman and third last year, will try to regain his champion scepter. In women, the participation of the Canadian Tara Norton stands out, who has fully recovered from the accident she suffered in the last edition of the Ironman in Hawaii. The Dutch Heleen Bij de Vaate and the German Kathryn Paetzold, also aspire to win the final victory and have been training on our island for several weeks.
The eyes of the Lanzarote spectators will be on Gregorio Cáceres, a triathlete who has been strengthening over the years and who has been gaining the affection of the fans. Goyo is the first professional athlete born in Lanzarote and who has consciously prepared to play a good role.
The Ironman Lanzarote is full of curious stories that are usually starred by amateur triathletes. Some of them have not been able to fulfill their dream of participating in the toughest Ironman in the world and after months of preparation, they will not be able to compete due to injury. This is the case of Marko Schlittchen from Germany, the Swiss Karin Thuerig, Frank Groner, Gerald Geier or Ian Stockel, who for reasons of injury or accident have had to renounce to participate.
As in each edition, the Race Director, Kenneth Gasque, will wait for each of the triathletes who cross the finish line, to give them a big hug and give them the medal that accredits them as true iron men and women. Throughout the 17 editions held, Kenneth has received 9884 triathletes at the finish line in Puerto del Carmen.
The Ironman Lanzarote is not a one-day event, but a great atmosphere is lived in the previous weeks. The little ones will have the opportunity to compete in the IronKids on Friday from 16:30 hours in Puerto del Carmen. On Thursday afternoon, the Parade of Nations will take place at Club La Santa, with the subsequent Pasta Party.
Also important is the participation of the 2000 volunteers, who do an extraordinary job and thanks to them a test of these characteristics can be developed perfectly. All set for the eighteenth edition of the Ironman Lanzarote Canarias Triathlon.
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