FFor triathletes, the Ironman Hawaii is a life goal: terribly hard, outrageously expensive, fantastically beautiful. But sometimes the trip to paradise can turn into a nightmare. In the race or before. Two women from Darmstadt can sing a song regarding it. The island, the competition, didn’t treat them well, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional or an amateur. Daniela Bleymehl is a professional. She has won six long-distance races in her career, including this year’s Frankfurt Ironman. Joanna Tywczynski, who works as a nurse at the Darmstadt Clinic, is an amateur.
Both Bleymehl and Tywczynski qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii at Ironman South Africa earlier this year. Both won in South Africa, Bleymehl the professional race, Tywczynski the age group 50 to 54 years. Both poured a lot of money and energy into Project Hawaii, both flew to Kailua-Kona with great expectations.
