False data & information

Lousy tricks! Why Ironman aces switch off their cell phones

Ivan Tutukin won in 2022 and wants to do it again this year with special preparation in the altitude training camp. He was also given a "noise ban" by the PEWAG team.(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Daniel Goetzhaber)

Fake news at Lake Wörthersee! This Sunday, over 3000 athletes will once again compete in the popular Ironman Austria in Klagenfurt. Among them are over 50 professional athletes competing for victory, 15,000 dollars in prize money and two World Championship tickets. But even in the Ironman scene, there are always black sheep who cause a stir with confusion ... 

It's like politics! There are always professional athletes who try to cause trouble," says Rene Vallant. The head of the Carinthian "Pewag Team" knows the strategies of Ironman athletes inside out - even the really bad ones! "False performance data, information about last-minute course changes or possible agreements between certain athletes are posted on social media - all fake news that is deliberately spread to confuse people," says Vallant.

Numerous spectators are once again expected on the swim course.(Bild: F.Pessentheiner)

Everything the athletes see on Instagram and the like is distracting and stays in their heads until the race - so our athletes need to stay away from it.

Rene Vallant, PEWAG-Team

No room for digital noise
To protect his four professional athletes, who are competing in Klagenfurt on Sunday, from this, he even banned them from consuming this kind of "noise" on social media in the week before the event. "It's just distracting - and anything that distracts you stays in your head on race day!" In order to do justice to sponsorship deals anyway, a social media manager is currently taking over the posts of the Pewag pros.

Don't let the prize money be your motivation!

Rene Vallant, PEWAG-Team

Thomas Steger is an Austrian hope for the future in the Ironman distance.(Bild: zVg)

Money should not be your motivation
The reasons why perfect preparation without any distractions is important are obvious. Winning the Ironman in Klagenfurt brings 15,000 dollars in prize money - and for two starters, tickets to the World Championships in Hawaii. Nevertheless, Vallant emphasizes: "During the race you ask yourself several times: Why am I actually doing this to myself? If the answer is money, you won't achieve anything - you have to live for the sport to be at the front."

Training at an altitude of over 2000 m
The Carinthian team also leaves nothing to chance in terms of sport. Ivan Tutukin, winner of 2022, has spent the last 17 days training at over 2000 m in Livigno (It). Vallant: "His performance is at its best two days after such a camp - he is one of the favorites." Also in the Pewag team: Thomas Steger (T), Lukasz Wojt (Pol) and Joao Ferreira (Sp).