Jan Frodeno
Encyclopedia
Jan Frodeno is a German
triathlete
. He won gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing.
Born in Cologne
, Frodeno started out as a swimmer in South Africa at the age of 15, and he entered triathlon in 2000. He then went to Germany to compete in the Bundesliga, and qualified for the national team in 2002. He currently trains at the Olympic Training Centre in Saarbrücken
. Before his Olympic victory, his best result was placing sixth in the 2007 World Championships, and winning the German Championship the same year. He had previously also placed second and third in various races of the World Cup from 2005 to 2008.
His gold medal win at the 2008 Summer Olympics
was a surprise. He beat the 2000 Olympic champion Simon Whitfield
in a sprint finish, while the hot pre-race favorite and 2008 World Champion Javier Gómez finished in fourth place. The victory came the day after his twenty-seventh birthday.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
triathlete
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
. He won gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing.
Born in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Frodeno started out as a swimmer in South Africa at the age of 15, and he entered triathlon in 2000. He then went to Germany to compete in the Bundesliga, and qualified for the national team in 2002. He currently trains at the Olympic Training Centre in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. Before his Olympic victory, his best result was placing sixth in the 2007 World Championships, and winning the German Championship the same year. He had previously also placed second and third in various races of the World Cup from 2005 to 2008.
His gold medal win at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The Triathlon competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, were held on Monday, August 18 and Tuesday, August 19 , on the Triathlon Venue at the Ming Tomb Reservoir in Shisanling....
was a surprise. He beat the 2000 Olympic champion Simon Whitfield
Simon Whitfield
Simon St. Quentin Whitfield is an Olympic triathlon champion from Canada.-Biography:Whitfield was born in Kingston, Ontario. As a young boy he played soccer but at age 11 began triathlon, honing his early competitive skills in the Canadian Kids of Steel program. By age 15 he was pursuing...
in a sprint finish, while the hot pre-race favorite and 2008 World Champion Javier Gómez finished in fourth place. The victory came the day after his twenty-seventh birthday.
External links
- Official home page
- Athlete Biography at Beijing 2008