Pro Panel Replay | 2024 IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg

Hear from your top Female Professional with Kat Matthews, Fenella Langridge, Jackie Hering & Maja Stage Nielsen, Daniela Bleymehl, Laura Jansen at the Pro Panel.

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all right good afternoon everybody um good afternoon to the media representatives of the media athletes um the public of course everybody out there joining us today it’s afternoon here good morning if you’re in other parts of the world good evening um Welcome to our pro panel talk here as part of Iron Man Hamburg the Iron Man European Championship the First full Iron Man in the new Pro Series on European soil so it’s going to be an exciting race that’s for sure and I’m glad to welcome six of our top ranked Pros in the Pro Series for a little chat today you know see if we can get some shots fired two days before the race welcome everybody thanks for taking the time great to have you here if I look around we’ve got quite a few athletes who are familiar with the race here in Hamburg so I will’ll see if there’s like a little bit of a Home Advantage on race day um for you in here in the room if you’ve got questions you would like to ask the way we want to do today is you’ll find live over here you give her a sign get a piece of paper and a pen and just write down your questions she’ll hand them to me I brought some of my own questions I want to ask the athletes um because I I had the great joy to observe some of them in the past two days and see curious things and um then yeah just uh ask your questions there’s actually a little goodie as well the best questions will be rewarded with a 50e voucher to the merchandise store so some swack for you as well um it’s worth it I’ve been to the shop there’s some cool cool new stuff so go check it out 100% but let me jump in with our athletes in a second just quickly I mentioned the pro serious and just for everybody who’s not familiar with it to give you an idea about it it’s something new we have with an ironment it’s a 20 race serious and um as I said it’s the first full distance that we got on European soil which makes it very exciting and I believe it’s the sixth race at the of the series so far so the way it works is that the athletes well race races and collect points and their top five results um count in the overall points in the end and the winner gets 5,000 points and the interesting part about it other than obviously the price money for the athletes is the every second matters so that should make for an exciting race it means really that every second matters so for every second that you’re behind the leader you lose one of the 5,000 points which means if you’re in second if you’re in third you just don’t want to secure the spot you want to be as fast as possible you want to be as close as possible to the winner as the winner up there even if you feel safe you just want to keep pushing it you know and um that’s why we’ll see I’m sure we we’re holding a course record here of 8 hours 1820 we’ll find out in a moment if somebody’s feeling brave to potentially break that on Sunday so let me introduce our fantastic athletes I’m going to start on the far right hand corner from my point of view here with L yansen from Germany laa welcome welome she was third just last weekend at 70.3 K she raced fourth at the Ironman European championship in her Pro debut last year in Frankfurt so um she’s been flying a little bit under the radar but not anymore you’re not Laura so all eyes on you we’re going to talk about that in a second and that we got MAA stelson who I think let me get that right you raced a dolon here before right not a triathlon so she knows the race other than the swim here in Hamburg she was fifth at the European championship in Frankfurt last year so it’ll be exciting to see her race this weekend as well and then finel welcome is that your first time in Hamburg yes first time racing in Germany no no okay we we’ll go into that um in a second So currently fifth in the Pro Series ranking let’s see if we can improve a little bit on that on Sunday we’ll find out C Matthews who’s already won an Iron Man this year with Texas feeling well we’ll find out in a second if she’s feeling ready for a second one I no doubt danila BL who won the inaugural race here in Hamburg um and is back for a third time racing I want to say here in Hamburg another one of our German contenders and then she might I want to say almost the iron rookie again right it’s been Jackie herring it’s been 9 years since you raised your last Iron Man I have so many questions so so many I’m going to start off with Laura though well once again very warm welcome to all of you um now you know who we’re talking here today so if you got question fire away Li is ready to hand out pen and paper La I was saying are we good in English are we doing this in English or we can do it in German I will P for German that that English is good enough that is 100% we go with that uh Laura I said it you know you you’ve been flying a little bit under the radar um things are starting to change with that fourth place in Frankfurt and the third place last weekend in kryal does it start to feel different for you as well uh I think mostly I like the uh position to Flying under the radar um but yeah it’s also a new experience for me to sit here and uh I yeah I like it too and uh yeah looking forward to uh show that uh even with some more pressure or to yeah with not being uh new to all everyone uh I hope that I can deler deliver some uh good racing you you see that quiet demeanor I’m telling you it’s the it’s the quiet ones that bite watch your on race day absolutely you had a stellar debut in Frankfurt last year um did you surprise yourself a little bit in the race yes absolutely that uh I came for was uh something I haven’t dreamed before uh the race I wanted to do my own race and uh finish my first long distance and uh that it works out so well was very surprise a big surprise for me uh and yeah makes me really happy still so I’m looking forward to Sunday it should still make you very happy it was a great race and considering that your plan was to finish your first long distance I think you did really well uh what would be your expectations for this race now yeah I had a not really nice experience uh in South Africa in April so uh my goal for Sunday is to finish the race and uh yeah I’m I have some goals in my mind but uh my biggest goal is to finish and uh have some fun exactly like last year in Frankfurt um to enjoy the course uh the race and uh yeah then we will see it sounds a little bit like you won’t tell me your secret goals even if I say pretty please yeah fair enough we’ll talk about it at the Finish Line see how the rise unfolds for you good luck for Sunday thank you Maya welcome back to Hamburg thank you yeah how much are you looking forward to actually racing a triathlon here it’s gonna be cool like looking at the water sometimes I’m pleased that it was a dlon but I’m a TR lead I like Tron hey it it looks a bit murky but it’s actually not that bad you’ll see you just got to join us for the test roomm on Saturday it’s it’s actually a pleasant swim in there you’ll see I kind of like I I I wish I would have you and Jackie next to each other because the three of us we got to talk a little bit about race week and race day nutrition sorry I had the pleasure of seeing them the past two days so Maya what is your current race week nutrition very boring Please Don’t Judge I eat rice Jackie how about you San um I eat normal food like a normal person go in detail is it are we like full on Pizza diet yeah oh yeah I do hit the pizza yeah the night starting tonight pizza and then more pizza pure USA here is it because after nine years of not racing a full distance you are a rookie we’ll see yeah this could backfire all I’ve been racing is half fireman so it works fine so we’re gonna find out yeah we we will find out for sure I’ve seen a take notes sort of kind of like watching Maya what she’s eating so we’ll we’ll judge afterwards who’s who had the better stretch strategy nutrition wise for the race here and Maya you you have a bit of a a backstory you had a career before the career um and I’ve recently seen you combine them again so you used to play golf I do I did play golf um I do still play a bit um earlier I would kind of run if I was frustrated about my game H and the worse I’d played the faster I would run um now it’s kind of the opposite way around if I had bad swim I would go to the range and it’s I maybe it’s like people go and do boxing or something like that it just gets rid of my frustrations and if I yeah have had for instance a bad swim I can do some pretty good drives still and I guess it also kind of reminds me of who I really am and and makes me feel like myself again I I totally see the appeal of like getting rid of frustration by wacking a small white ball as hard as you can um which which sport is more fun depends like I quit gol so I guess this one is more fun but you always want what you can’t have uh and I when like I like to play golf for fun I didn’t like to do it competitive you you raced in Texas as well just as Kat did and you came back with a little bit of mixed feelings how how is the feeling how’s the mood going into the race on Sunday well the main feeling is that I want my rench um and maybe not against cat but in like overall H and and yeah so that’s what I’m aiming for just like media’s printing now it’s like St neelson Wants Revenge on Matthews that was not what I said this is going to be so much fun on Sunday don’t you think Mara good luck to you as well racing vanilla fifth in the Iron Man Pro Series where will you stand after the race um higher than fifth all right I’ll take it that that is very close I’ve been trying to get an athlete I think for the past four years without any success to say in the Pro briefing or the the pro talk that they want to win the race this is as close as it gets I’ll I’ll take that higher in the rankings is pretty good what are your expectations you’ve had a little bit of a look around here what are your expectations for the race I know the Germans bring excellent races excellent courses with amazing crowds so I’m just looking forward to that on Sunday and their energy will give me energy and to get to the cross that finish line as fast as possible let’s talk a little bit I talked about the the Pro Series before is it something that that works for you as an athlete you know it’s a couple of more races to race if you want to collect points is that something you enjoy yeah actually this year I’m racing less than I raced last year so and with less full distance racing so if anything it’s a step back but hopefully I will be able to hit the races that I want to hit with more yeah more precision and get to see new places that I’ve never seen before and yeah really excited for how the rest of the season will unfold should theoretically the winner of the Iran European Championship on Sunday be you how would the race unfold from swim to finish line I don’t know I think everyone out there has their idea of how the race will unfold but what really matters is what happens when the gun goes up on Sunday and I’ve got my plan of what I want to do but you’ve got to un expect the unexpected and I’ve got to just deliver my race and uh yeah put it all out there well can’t wait to to see it watch it good luck thank you K how do you feel about Maya wanting revenge on you I think Maya and I both want revenge on the Iron Man referees if I’m honest but I’m assured that ger German referees can State the color of the card more accurately than the Americans I I have no doubt we’re very much you know just Square thinking boxers so maybe even show the card what come on now don’t go all crazy on us now come on well I I hear from that you’re bringing a tiny bit of frustration into the race as well is that is that motivation does that bring extra energy into the race Oh no I got over that um pretty quickly during the race um but the motivation here for me is more of a personal game to have pride in my own performance rather than any external factors what would make you proud on Sunday winning so is winning more would you rather win and have a bad race day or have a great race day and not win uh it’s the ultimate question where everyone reverts back to their own internal you know performance goals but if I’m honest I think I’d rather win fair yep I hear you on that we talked about the every second matters um does that change racing you are an athlete who’s won races who’s let races on and so on is that something that’s in the back of your hat now that makes you push even harder when you’re even when you’re in the lead before I’m man Texas I said that it I would I found it impossible to think of a scenario where I was running for the win and I was thinking oh I’ll go quicker to get extra points or to not allow someone else extra points and then I thought well maybe I will you know if I’ve got the capacity and then it Texas there was absolutely no way I was trying to speed up for a point but I think the the accumulation as we go through the series that will be the interesting the factor and actually it I am starting to realize now that those five minute penalties perhaps were valuable points that I gave away so it it is a slightly more complex than just go a bit faster in the marathon all right well it sounds like it’s a a game of math on Sunday I’m good luck for your race and that you end up with a with a good experience that you’re happy with yourself after the race Daniela welcome back good to have you thank you you have won this race before will it be a second time on Sunday we will see well I feel um I can’t remember when I have felt that recovered so I I came here or we are here without the kids and I slept uh like I can’t I can’t remember when and have slept that much so I’m I’m fit and uh yeah uh recovered so we’ll see finally a mom that admits that having children is not just unicorns and rainbows and I just a little break from them um you know you you’re racing in front of the home crowds as the European Championship it’s a pro series and so on do you think as a German athlete you got a little bit of an advantage with the crowds here of course no I hope so but um yeah it’s a it’s an amazing City it is um an amazing atmosphere so you will all uh all see that on Sunday and um I yeah I so many good memories um for the first two races here and yeah I can’t wait really looking forward and we got a really nice back horse I think I imagined it a little bit um more straightforward but I think it’s going to be quite interesting a few technical uh sections and I think it’s going to be yeah a very um uh Dynamic race until the end oh I’m sure it will be no doubt so you said or we talked about it you’ve been here twice is there like any tips you know I know we’ve got a lot of first timers out there watching now right now what you’re saying as well and so on any tip on how to best enjoy the race if you’re doing this for the first time um well on the swim you won’t see that much um so maybe you yeah you start enjoying the race after the swim um it’s like I said a really cool bike horse uh with very different path and yeah the run is totally um there’s yeah every meter is like really cool atmosphere and um you can really enjoy I think well well I hope everybody it’s it is a beautiful course it’s a great crowd for sure so the setting is there to to really enjoy it 100% I hope you enjoy it on Sunday as well good luck to you as well thank you and then we’ll see if it’s number two or not Jackie I was joking a little bit about you being a rookie obviously not a rookie but last full distance 2015 uh now you’re back the obvious question number one would be why well why am I back I got super excited about this Pro Series thing it just drew me right in I thought if there was ever a time before I retired to get back to full distance racing that now there’s actually a reason to so I don’t know yeah kind of Drew me in and um the kids are both in school now they’re six and eight years old so I have a little bit more time to be training for a full and I’ve honestly just really enjoyed it and it did sound this morning a little bit like this is not going to be one-off like I heard you say at breakfast you know I I’d like to go back to Kaa so you’re planning a little longer ahead I think so I think uh I mean in in my mind it seems as if the pro series might continue next year um I can’t imagine they would just do it one year so hopefully it will and in that case I would love to go back to Kona it’s been a really long time um I’ve raced there four times but it was so long ago that I would love to go back now and and experience that again yeah I understand that feeling so you you’ve arrived fairly early here you’ve been here for so long we we almost made you a resident already um what is your first impression of Hamburg of you know the atmosphere of what to expect from the race yeah so I’ve had two different experiences this is my first time coming to Germany and the first few days I was staying north of the city in the country and that was obviously way different than it is um here in the city but I’ve enjoyed both aspects of Germany the people are so kind and friendly and I’ve really felt welcomed here so just since you’ve got them here and you haven’t done this in so long do you want to ask them any tips or tricks for race day I’ve already tried to solicit help for my nutrition plan um I’ve asked about pacing how you do special needs I’m trying to literally learn everything possible um at the last minute but yeah I don’t know what they probably won’t tell me anything more at this point if they tell you something I’d be very very careful about that information you’re getting there well good luck um and uh really looking forward to see see how you fair and I’m sure Koo is going to happen again so thank you so much that was my questions but obviously we had questions I don’t know did we get any questions here we got questions here we got questions from the social media as well some really good ones that I want to ask but let’s see what we got here love the handwriting oh I like that one all right here we go who to start with vanilla looks like she looks at me like I want to answer I want to answer all right fair enough what is your top five advice that you would give to to a beginner five pieces okay we can swim it down to three uh swim Swim Bike Run that’s it bik right no okay with the swim just uh because it’s not so obious when you’re in the water just make sure you look at the map before so you have some kind of idea of what navigational area uh Direction you will be heading in um for the bike yeah practice dismounting and mounting your bike because those are the areas that can really mess you up and could end up hurting yourself uh run have a look at the Run course but I guess by that point uh make sure you’re keeping calm staying on top of your for nutrition and hydration and really enjoy it because you’ve got this far in the race and it’s probably the most enjoying enjoyable bit and even through the pain just once you finished you’ll look back and then there’ll be that moment of oh I’m never doing it again but then you’ll be signing up for another one within a couple of hours so really embrace it and enjoy it um and yeah you’re here now and that is the hardest part so pat yourself on the back uh you’ve made it this far and it’s just the fun bit that happens on race day that was good we saw we should have gone for the five I like that one th this is a good one since we had the nutrition already um this one’s for Kat and finella what is your go-to meal deal sub five quit I mean Maya could answer that one easy you know that’s that’s 30p for dinner but yeah I don’t do the shopping in our household so um I can’t answer this question K how you the meal deal is something I assume it’s a British question it’s like a supermarket testos um I think i’ go for the expensive sandwich over any like the whole meal deal I think and I’d go £450 for like a a really nice plowman’s nice all right none you know nobody outside Great Britain knows what you’re talking about but yeah um and apparently I wasn’t aware of that apparently food is a huge topic with h athletes I’ve got like a gazillion food questions here so I’m just going to finish it up with the other ones you’re General this is not sub five quit anymore is it what is your go-to meal the the Night Before the Race what are you having well I bet everyone can guess that now it’s pizza pizza pizza sausage and mushroom pizza if we must be specific what sausage and mushroom I hope the Italians are not listening right now danela how about you well actually I’m having pizza and rice together Pizza in the midday and rice in the evening all right K cat we kind of heard but now that you can spend more than five quit oh way cheaper on Race the race week is super cheap um I’m just eating a lot of rice if I can even eat anything else by the time it gets to dinner time otherwise I’m just popping harryo nice um Pizza rice and chicken all right the whole meal deal yeah well I guess I’ve already said it I’m on the rice diet um and I’m all in on the HBO too for me it’s mostly pasta or rice yeah so nothing special there you have it everybody but Jackie is reading eating rice Jackie I will yeah but rice as well she has rice with a pizza I’ll eat rice perfect peer pressure it’s working well thank you so much guys um that was the the questions or some of the questions from you guys as well thank you so much for pitching in um thanks for joining us this afternoon morning wherever you are and if you’re racing as well have a wonderful race day good luck to you as well thanks for being here thank you so much have a good day everybody [Applause]