18-year-old completes Klagenfurt Ironman as youngest competitor

Elias Kugler, an 18-year-old technical school student from Leopoldschlag in the Freistadt district, completed the Klagenfurt Ironman as its youngest competitor in 10 hours and 47 minutes, ORF reported.

The event included a 3.8-kilometre swim in Lake Wörthersee, a 180-kilometre bike ride through the surrounding hills and a 42.2-kilometre marathon. “It was pain, it was relief, it was madness,” Kugler told ORF Upper Austria’s interview series Auf ein Wort.

After swimming and cycling, Kugler considered giving up after only three kilometres of the run. “But my head said: Elias, you can do it,” he said. The Klagenfurt course record is just under eight hours.

He said the best moment came at kilometre 37 of the marathon, when five kilometres remained. “I knew I had made it,” Kugler said.

During the bike ride, he tried to drink and consume energy gels every 15 to 20 kilometres. He planned to eat cereal bars or sports sweets every 30 kilometres but was unable to keep any food down. Kugler said he lost five kilograms and sweated out 15 litres of fluid during the event.

His next major goal is to complete his school-leaving examinations. The member of the Tripower Freistadt triathlon club is also considering competing in the Ironman in Barcelona in two years. Winning his age group there could qualify him for the Ironman in Hawaii, which he described as the biggest goal for any triathlete.