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MEETING
Michael Raelert
When I was 4 years old, my parents brought me
to the swimming-pool to learn how to swim until
I was 10 years old. Then when I was 17, I saw my
brother Andi do triathlon and I wanted to do the
same, so I’ve been practicing for 19 years with ups
and a lot of downs...
I did ITU races but I always missed the qualification
for the Olympic Games. As Kona was my big goal,
I began racing longer distances, and so I started
70.3. But Kona remains the big goal, especially
because triathlon is very popular in Germany with
Frodeno and Kienle, and when you have Kona in
mind...
Andreas Dreitz
My first triathlon was in 2008, before that I did
running and cycling. I began cycling races at the
same time as triathlon. I wanted to be a cyclist
but I didn’t know how it worked. The legs are
not enough, you also need the mental. And it was
hard for me to have results, whereas in triathlon I
succeeded quickly and I also had good friends to
rely on. It was not a bad decision after all...
TrimaX-magazine : You participated in the 70.3
world championships in 2016?
Andreas Dreitz
Yes I finished 11th, it was a hard race, I was
expecting a lot from this race. I wanted to be
strong on the bike, I tried but it didn’t work, so I
was a little disappointed when I arrived at T2, and
my run is not my strength, I have to work on it.
The other guys just ran faster than I did, so I was a
little disappointed with my 11th place.
TrimaX-magazine : And you Michaël, what IM do
you want to do ?
Michael Raelert
Maybe Cairns or Klagenfurt in Austria. But
obviously I want to qualify so I have to be healthy
and well prepared. I need more time to train
correctly, so Cairns at the beginning of June is
perfect, and it’s a P4000. But on the other hand
I like to race in Europe and Austria is close so
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I’m more tempted. I’m not sure yet but probably
Cairns..
TrimaX-magazine : Do you like the heat ?
Michael Raelert
Honestly, not really. I was talking about that with
Fredi Croneborg today : running under the heat is
different, you don’t need to be fast but to keep the
pace. In hot races, of course the best always wins,
but you also have to be intelligent enough not to
be too fast.
TrimaX-magazine : Is your brother an additional
motivation for you ?
Michael Raelert
Of course, Andi is 40 and is one of the best athletes
of the world, I don’t want to be like him, but I want
to have the same passion of triathlon, of training,
and this passion is also motivating me. I also want
to prove that I have this potential to do a good race
like him in Kona, without being arrogant, but I still
have to prove it... This is not magical, if you want to
win in Kona you have to do your job. Frodeno and
Kienle are intelligent guys, you don’t need special
qualities, you have to train hard and be smart...
TrimaX-magazine : What do you think about
Alistair Brownlee on the long distance circuit ?
Michael Raelert
Interesting, Brownlee is the best athlete on ITU,
the best of the world. It’s exiting to see him on 70.3
races. Let’s see what happens after 3h of race, but
it’s good to see new athletes, others tried before,
but only a few of them succeeded! Maybe he will
have a new impact on 70.3 and later on Ironman,
we will see...