Jonas Deichmann has done it!
Extreme athlete celebrates world record with 120 long-distance triathlons in 120 days on the DATEV Challenge Roth course
This achievement is unrivalled worldwide: On 9 May 2024, Jonas Deichmann launched his ‘Challenge 120’ project with the aim of swimming 3.8 km, cycling 180 km and running 42 km every day in Roth. On 5 September, he actually did it and successfully finished 120 triathlon long distances in a row.
At 9.02 pm on Thursday evening, he arrived overjoyed at the DATEV Challenge Roth finish arch, accompanied by several hundred runners and thousands of supporters. With the words ‘It was awesome’ and ‘an unforgettable summer for me’, Deichmann completed the greatest endurance feat ever achieved by a human being. In total, the adventurer completed 456 kilometres of swimming, 21,600 kilometres of cycling and over 5,000 kilometres of running, always on the same route in the Home of Triathlon.
All superlatives are understated
Felix Walchshöfer, race director of DATEV Challenge Roth, is proud of Jonas Deichmann, but also of the people of Roth who have given the world record holder such fantastic support.
“I never actually wear hats, but with Jonas' performance, I'm thinking of buying one and wearing it whenever I see Jonas. What he has achieved in the last few weeks and months is still surreal and simply historic. My big thanks also go to the many people in the district of Roth who have supported Jonas day after day, whether on the track or on the roadside. They have all contributed to the success of Jonas' project. These people are also responsible for the fact that Jonas chose Roth as the location for his world record. We can all be immensely proud of this in the district. Roth has once again shown that there is only one triathlon district in the world.”
Anyone who would like to see Jonas Deichmann after his project will soon have another opportunity to do so. On Saturday, 7 September, the city of Roth is hosting a reception for the extreme athlete and his team in the Ratsstuben in Roth. The public is cordially invited to the reception. The donations collected will also be handed over to the children's and youth fire brigades in Roth.
Every year, around 3,500 individual starters and 700 relay teams fulfil their triathlon dreams at DATEV Challenge Roth. The district of Roth stands for the sport like no other and is celebrating 40 years of triathlon this year. The sports festival in the triathlon stronghold has been home to triathletes from all over the world since 1984. 7,500 volunteers and hundreds of thousands of supporters provide goosebumps year after year.
