Jan Frodeno is out of May’s Ironman World Championship in St George after a partial tear to his Achilles tendon.
The German was looking to defend the crown he won in 2019 after 2020’s race was cancelled due to Covid and last autumn’s race was rescheduled to Utah in three weeks’ time.
“I’ve recently been diagnosed with a small partial tear of the Achilles tendon. That’s the reason my running didn’t progress past an hour, which even at the very best of speeds is not enough for a marathon – or even a half,” Frodeno said in a statement released on his social channels.
“It’s part of sport I guess, but it still doesn’t get any easier. I’ve been up on skis and cross training and actually getting really fit, but for now, it’s time to play it a little bit safe. My dream is still to get to the Big Island of Hawaii and have a really, really great race there.
“When you have a partial rupture there is always a danger of more happening, so I’ve decided to hopefully play it smart, and prepare well, and get myself ready in the best way I can.”
No new record this time
Frodeno was looking to become the first triathlete aged 40 to win the Ironman World Championship and the PTO-ranked No 2 headed into the race as one of the favourites having not been defeated since 2017.
In fact, Frodeno, the 2008 Olympic champion from Beijing (pictured above), has had a stellar career since turning his full attention to long course racing in 2014.
In 31 high profile races over that time, he’s only been off the podium twice, including a 35th place in Hawaii in 2017 where a back injury forced him to walk-jog the marathon.
The triumphs include three Ironman world titles, two Ironman 70.3 world titles and course records in Hawaii (7:51:13) and Challenge Roth (7:35:39) – the race in Roth being the fastest time ever for the iron distance until Frodeno bettered it himself last year in a head-to-head match with Canadian Lionel Sanders where he stopped the clock at 7:27:53.
Down but not out
With 2016 and 2017 winner Patrick Lange also out of the race having broken his shoulder in February, it leaves their fellow German Sebastian Kienle as the remaining Ironman world champion in the men’s field, with Sanders, USA’s Ben Hoffman, Belgium's Bart Aernouts and Britain’s David McNamee the only other triathletes to have made the podium.
Frodeno added: “Inevitably when you seek the limit, at some point sooner or later, you’ll find it and I’ve taken that step too far once again. But that’s part of my nature. It’s how I’m made up, So I’m going to push all I can, and unfortunately it was just a little bit too much.
“So, rehab time. I’ll be hurting watching from the side-lines, but it’s stoking the fire for sure, and hoping for a return as soon as possible.”
