By James Deane on 25/07/2008 11:03

When I've answered 'Roth', more often than not the very next question is ‘What is that?’  Roth is a small town about 40km south of Nuremberg, in Germany, and the destination of Europe's first every Ironman event.  Why the triathlon held there annually is not splashed all over the current Ironman sites relates to the fact that it’s no longer run under the Ironman brand.  One of the first 2 Germans to race at IM Hawaii was Detlef Kuhnel in 1982, a Roth local.  In 1984 he organised a short distance race in Roth and this graduated, in 1988, to the 1st Ironman Germany Race in Roth with the winner setting a world record time over the Ironman distance at the time. The race ran under the auspices of Ironman until 2001 when the organisers parted company with the Ironman brand.  During that time the race saw some super fast finishes with Luc v Lierde setting (and still holding) the world record of 7:50.27.

 

Since 2002 the race has been run by the Challenge organisation with Quelle as the front line sponsor...

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