Faris al-Sultan with Bavarian flag, Hawaii 2005 |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Sultan of Sweat | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 January 1978 Munich, Germany |
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| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 8:14:00 (2005) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Faris al-Sultan (Arabic: فارس السلطان) was born 21 January 1978 in Munich, Germany to a German mother and an Iraqi father. He is a professional triathlete and the winner of the 2005 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Faris al-Sultan is known for his strengths in all three triathlon disciplines. In the running segment, he has a consistent but uncommon form of a long stride and loose arms, described as "looping." In competition, he typically wears a Speedo and half-singlet. His interest in triathlon was inspired by Thomas Hellriegel, a German triathlete.
Al-Sultan started out as a collegiate swimmer before taking on triathlon. His first Ironman in 1997 was the notoriously difficult Lanzarote Ironman, which he completed in a time of 10:33. Al-Sultan achieved his first Ironman win at the inaugural running of Ironman Arizona in 2005. He competed at the Ironman world championships in Hawaii in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004 before finally winning there in 2005. The favorite that year, fellow German Normann Stadler, withdrew due to flat tyres. In al-Sultan's return to defend the title in 2006, he placed third. At the 2007 championships, Faris did not compete due to a case of gastroenteritis the morning of the race. He said choosing not to compete "was one of the hardest decisions of my life."[1]
In addition to his athletic training, al-Sultan was a graduate student at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, working on a Master's degree in Arabic language, literature, and history. Al-Sultan dropped out of graduate school before completing his degree in order to focus on triathlons.
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