Kristin Möller is an Ironman Champion (31.07.2011)

Ironman UK in Bolton was Kristin’s just 3rd Ironman but she could win it with a good bike performance and extraordinary run split.

Ironman racing is like a trip on a rollercoaster. A week ago Kristin’s feelings were like the weather – rainy and cold. Today the sun shines again for her. Last weekend she had to drop out at the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt because of a bike defect. On the same day she decided to race Ironman UK. She was not the only one who had that idea. The American Desire Ficker and the German Diana Riesler, for whom it was too cold in Frankfurt, registered also for that race. With them the level of the woman’s pro field increased a lot.

But that was no problem for Kristin. After the swim she was 6 min back but her main opponents like Ficker and Riesler were still within her grasp. They were 2 min ahead of Kristin. She knew that the tough bike course would fit her. So Kristin overtook some of the female pros or she came closer to the other ones in front of her. Just Diana Riesler showed her strength. Almost 15 min ahead of Kristin she put on her running shoes. But the tiny woman from Fürth, who used to be runner before she started triathlon, was still motivated and she run a sensational marathon. She could not just only close the gap to Riesler but she was another 6 min ahead of her as Kristin crossed the finish line. Her 2h41:56 run split will go to the history books. Though it is never clear if the course is exactly measured. But Kristin was just seconds slower than the man’s winner Aaron Farlow from Australia who marked the fastest run split of the day. And Kristin improved the old overall woman’s course record by more than 10 min.