Best of with Jan van Berkel for his last Ironman: “In Hawaii, I didn’t go a mile for me”

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Sunday is a big day for Jan van Berkel (37). The Swiss triathlete contests his last competition as a top athlete with the Ironman in Thun.

He again has big plans for the 3.8 km swim, 180.2 km bike and 42.2 km run: “I want to ensure that the winner deserves the title with my performance. And I would take it myself.” Then a varied career comes to an end. For Blick he looks back on the most impressive experiences. The best of.

“That was in Zurich in 2018. I got my first Ironman win. The wedding was a week later (he married former figure skater Sarah Meier, editor’s note). Emotionally, this week couldn’t be beaten.”

“Certainly the Ironman Hawaii last year. 30 minutes before the start I suffered from a lumbago. I wondered if I should even start it at all. But I really wanted it, also as a tribute to the game and the island of Hawaii. You can feel the spirit and spirits of the island. Then I hung out for nine hours. It hurt excruciatingly, but I realized there will be no damage in the long run. Two weeks later, the pain was 100 percent gone.”

“It was another time in Hawaii when a fin broke not even a foot in front of me. I couldn’t tell at first if it was a shark or a dolphin. Of course my heart rate was 200. Then two dolphins just swam up to me. They just wanted see what was going on. Suddenly I was in a whole family of dolphins. For the first time I really realized how bad we humans swim. The dolphins are completely different: one movement of the fin and the animal was gone.”

«Panama in 2014. In the morning I wanted to cycle to the start. I came into an area where you shouldn’t go. When I asked police officers where the triathlon was, they replied that it was a red zone. ‘Bang, bang’ they said for emphasis. Then they escorted me to the launch site.”

“In general I smile a lot during a race, maybe more inwardly. But it turned out differently. Namely when Ronnie Schildknecht and I led the Ironman Switzerland in 2015. My sister-in-law stood by the track and cheered me on. “You look great,” she said. Ronnie said, “And me?” We burst out laughing. The thought of actually being a competitor quickly disappeared after running 20 kilometers.”

“Dedicate every mile to someone who got you started. If you have problems from the very beginning, that’s 226 people. I could name so many.”

“It’s actually a woman: Daniela Ryf. In triathlon we’re like kindergarten colleagues. Maybe because we’re not direct competitors. I always knew she’d be the best one day, even as a junior.”

“At the very end of my career, I was challenged again. It was in Val Mara this spring on a steep bike descent when the disc brakes gave out and I had to choose between crashing into the guardrail or crashing into a rock face. By bike you make a delicate journey, as we saw at the Tour de Suisse. It could have happened to me too. I got away with a scratch, but with a broken bike and a broken helmet. There are now carbon slivers and skid marks from my guardian angels.”

“It was recently after running training when I got home. I was climbing the stairs when my son Tim (3) asked: ‘Dad, did the training go well?’ That overwhelmed me because my wife used to ask that and now my son has noticed it’s probably an important question.”

“In November 2018, a woman came to me at the airport. She said her son saw me cycling at Ironman Switzerland at Heartbreak Hill in Kilchberg ZH. The boy later wanted to become a triathlete himself. It’s the inspiration for others that makes me happy.”

Source : Blick