UDE Professor Qualifies Again for the Ironman World Championship
Detour to Hawaii
- 19.08.2026
Joachim Prinz had originally planned to enjoy a home race at the Ironman 70.3 in Duisburg. But the half-distance event was already sold out. So the 55-year-old professor of business administration spontaneously signed up for the full-distance race in Kalmar, Sweden instead. It turned out to be a great decision: after 10 hours and 9 minutes, Prinz crossed the finish line and knew he had qualified for the legendary Ironman Hawaii on October 10. “The World Championship on the Big Island is the ultimate experience for a triathlete. To qualify again after 2018 is just incredible!”
The race in Kalmar, however, got off to a difficult start. Around 3,000 participants turned the opening swim in the Baltic Sea into the notorious “washing machine” – waves, arms and legs everywhere – followed by fierce battles for position over the 3.8-kilometre course.
After 1:15 hours in the water, the UDE professor found his rhythm on the bike. He completed the 180 kilometres in 5:01 hours and the subsequent marathon in 3:40 hours. “The strength training with coaches Marc Terkath and Benjamin Tran at the University Sports Club really paid off,” Prinz says. He also coped well with the heat and finished the race in Kalmar in a total time of 10:09:53 hours, placing seventh in his age group (55–59).
From now on, his daily three-hour training routine is focused entirely on Hawaii.
Further information:
Prof. Dr. Joachim Prinz, Business Administration, joachim.prinz@uni-due.de