The Gulf of Patras had just 12 degrees Celsius as 37 swimmers from all over Europe jumped in there to race the 6 km long course without using a wetsuit. Christof was happy that he had a lot of Christmas cookies. Every gained gram helped him to survive under these conditions. After he swam in the main group at the beginning he could escape with 2 other athletes. As they stopped to drink Christof continued the race. His experiences told him that he would not need anything on a 6 km long course. And that was right. In the end he could increase the distance and won the race with almost 2 minutes ahead of the second one, the third of the World Championships Spiros Papadopoulos from Greece.
That was a good start into the new year! Christof looks forward to his next challenges. That will be the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March and a crossing of Lake Balaton with more than 10.000 other competitors in European summer.