COVER STORY
DISCOVERING
BY BELINDA GRANGER IMAGES BY INSTAGRAM . COM / FX _ MAKESAPICTURE
He is possibly the best athlete the sport of triathlon has seen . He has achieved things no one has come close to , over all distances , in a hugely competitive era . He has won an Olympic Gold medal , won two Ironman World Championships and created history in Roth in 2016 by smashing the world record . He has his own coffee brand named after him and a huge array of sponsors . He is Jan Frodeno .
Australia is renowned for claiming stars from other countries as our own if they hang out here long enough – especially if they are any good . Just think movie star Russell Crowe , 1980 ’ s band Split Enz and TV host Richard Wilkins ( well , we may not all claim him ). They are now ‘ Aussies ’ who receive very little mention of their international heritage . If you also add a romantic link to one of our own sporting champions , then a star living in Australia would become practically nationalised in our eyes overnight . Jan Frodeno , the current Ironman World Champion , is German born , spent his formative sporting years in South Africa , married one of Australia ’ s most successful and popular triathletes , Olympic Gold Medallist Emma Snowsill , and now spends half his time in Australia . Frodeno being declared an honorary Aussie is a no brainer . We ’ ll claim him , especially if in Kona he should go three wins in a row in 2017 .
I got to catch up with Jan in my hometown of Noosa . For six months of the year my neighbours are Jan , Emma and their baby boy Lucca . Coffee and a chat is a daily ritual in Noosa , and I do love to do both . Luckily Jan is a fan of an excellent brew too . So we sat down over a piccolo and a macchiato and talked about what makes Jan Frodeno one of the most successful and popular athletes our sport has seen in a while . Turns out , he ’ s happy and grateful - not in a cheesy Facebook post kind of way , he simply links hard work and happiness to success .
There ’ s not a whole lot to compare between the Medieval architecture of Girona in Spain , and the cafés in Hastings Street Noosa , yet Jan and his family call both places home and its certainly working for them . Whether it ’ s Pyrenean training rides or the run through the Noosa National Park , geography is not as important as community when it comes to the best places to live and train for Frodeno .
“ It ’ s not so much the locations themselves as you being happy in a spot and I do believe that Ironman is a lot about preparing mentally , about being mentally in a happy place , and that inturn enables me to get the very best out of myself every day . The days when I locked myself up in a training camp situation and knocked out big kilometres every day are done and dusted . These days I need that little bit of happiness , that contentment , in between training sessions and the vibe around Girona as well as Noosa is great . Both have a great sporting community and good people , and that makes training all that much easier and I believe that ’ s part of the key to success ,” explains Frodeno . Happiness for Jan is wrapped up in Emma and Lucca . “ Little king Lucca has been awesome . It ’ s absolutely great to have a little smile coming back at me when I come back from training . He ’ s just a phenomenal little energy ,” says Frodeno . And with both parents being Olympic gold medallists , little Lucca may indeed be a king of the sporting world in the future .
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