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Faris Al Sultan, captain of the new-look Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, made a triumphant return to form to win Sunday’s historic 25th Kirchbichl Triathlon in Austria, beating his nearest rival by more than four minutes.
Clocking up the fastest swimming and biking section times, the Abu Dhabi resident finished the race in one hour and 51 minutes - a feat made more astonishing as it was Al Sultan’s first event after a month’s absence due to injury.
Al Sultan - who leads the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-backed endurance squad - has become a regular crowd favourite at Kirchbichl, having racked up an impressive track record, entering the top 10 winners list several times since his 1997 debut. He competes this year as guest of honour for the event’s 25th anniversary.
"With the fatigue fracture in the pelvis I couldn’t run for seven weeks. I only started my running workouts three weeks ago but I’m still incapable of my full workload as I’m currently in the healing stage,” said Al Sultan, who is widely regarded as one of the globe’s top endurance athletes.
“I was pretty nervous when I first arrived here as I didn’t know how I would fare with the running element of the race. My initial plan was to push hard in the water and on the bike to gain distance. This didn’t work as well as I hoped so I knew I had to push myself in the running leg, which I did and it worked.”
Set against an impressive Alpine backdrop, the Kirchbichl Triathlon is one of the oldest and most popular in Austria. The race is renowned for its gruelling Olympic-style swimming leg and for being one of the world’s longest running triathlons.
Competitors not only have to tackle the 1.5kms swimming, 38kms swimming and 10kms running course, they also have to battle against changes in altitude and the rolling mountainous terrain that forms the heart of the Kirchbichl Triathlon.
As captain of Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team - a crack squad of seven international athletes - Al Sultan is no stranger to testing conditions. The winner of the 2005 Ironman World Championship, he now hopes his recent victory will put him in good stead for the rest of the season.
“This weekend’s win makes me much more confident for my next races, particularly as I prepare for the Ironman Regensburg in Germany this August and of course the Ironman World Championship later this year," added the ‘Sultan of Sweat’.
Al Sultan will now train for his next race, Triathlon Ingolstadt, in his home country of Germany.
“This is a fantastic result and a triumph for sheer endurance,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General, ADTA. “Faris has demonstrated the determination and commitment that we hope our budding Emirati sportsmen will emulate.”
Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, created by ADTA to further the emirate’s global athletic performance credentials, will compete in more then 40 top international events this season including Ironman, 70.3 and the French Championships.
The outfit got off to a winning start in 2010 after team members, Ina Reinders and Jan van Berkel, made a clean sweep at the debut US 250,000 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March. Since then, the team has taken part in a number of events in Australia, Europe and the US.
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