Triathlon festival 2009

Ralf Achtnicht, Carsten Angermeyer, Mario Giurdanella and Peter Krieger completed the Memmert team, which started for the first time with six individual starters in a short triathlon, as always excellently coached by Bennie Lindberg. They all reached the finishing line exhausted but happy, and without major injury, apart from Peter Englisch. During the cycling, he ended up on the asphalt after a fall. Later, on the running course, his wife and daughter were shocked to see him covered in grazes and cuts, but giving up was not an option for Peter Englisch.

At the beginning of the year he had decided, along with Harald von Blumenthal from the technical service department, to participate in the Triathlon at the Rothsee, quite spontaneously and just for the fun of it. “Endurance sport was never my thing, even though I've always been a triathlon fan. My only sport previously was table tennis, which has more to do with fast reactions. But Bennie Lindberg was excellent in explaining to us, during the regular company running meetings and swimming training, how important technique is in the individual disciplines.“

“I’m allowed to get on my bike!” Just like Peter Englisch, Harald von Blumenthal was relieved to get the swimming course behind him. Never before had he swum such a long distance – and before he started at Memmert, he had also never run long distances. A little bit of cycling in his spare time was more than enough to satisfy his sporting ambition. But the more the word triathlon buzzed around him, the more the employee in the technical service department became hooked, and finally he was also taken under the wing of Bennie the coach, to begin preparations with the help of important tips and tricks. As a technical enthusiast, he built his cycle himself. A task that, although it brought him much enjoyment, was only just completed one week before the start of the race. On the final lap of running he did hear a quiet voice in his head a few times saying how wonderful it would be to be able to stop now. But ultimately even he was able to overcome his weaker self, and after 3 hours, 3 minutes and 43 seconds he experienced his personal moment of triumph. Ralf Achtnicht and Peter Englisch were close by, and so the Three Musketeers decided to cross the finishing line together. They were greeted with euphoric cheers by their fans.

Their boss, Christiane Riefler-Karpa, came in 24 seconds short of three hours overall time, thus achieving her most important target for the competition. The intensive training sessions had paid off, and the ideal conditions on and along the course played their part in the good performances of the entire Memmert team. Christiane Riefler-Karpa particularly enjoyed the absence of wind during the cycling. She had been somewhat afraid of this discipline. Riding at top speed downhill in a pack can lead to serious accidents among inexperienced cyclists, so the Memmert boss was really very happy when she was finally ready to start the running course. As always, spectators lined the entire length of the course and spurred on the athletes to the finishing line with their encouragement. With a great performance in the bag, the company boss was able to celebrate at the finishing line with her team, and with the many fans who had come along to lend their support.