Extreme athlete and multiple world record holder, Jonas Deichmann, is aiming to set a new world record. His ‘Challenge 120’ goal is 120 long distance triathlons in 120 days on the DATEV Challenge Roth course. That’s 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42 km of running. Every day for four months.
Deichmann will start on May 9, 2024 and will then complete an entire long-distance triathlon every day until he completes his last lap with a new world record on September 9, after a total of 456 km of swimming, 21,000 km of cycling and 5,063 km of running.
The route corresponds to the route of the world’s largest long distance triathlon, DATEV Challenge Roth. Deichmann will also join the professionals and 3,500 individual athletes on the course at his challenge’s halfway point on July 7, 2024, before going on with 60 more days of laps.
The extreme athlete is already used to long distances; and, after setting several cycling world records, completed the first triathlon around the world in 2021. He circumnavigated the globe in 14 months with a total of 120 long-distance triathlons and achieved worldwide acclaim.
This time he wants to go a little faster, but in ideal conditions. “I will always be an adventurer, but I want to find out what is really possible and where better to do that than at the legendary Challenge Roth,” explained Deichmann.
“I’m happy with any company, whether for a day, a discipline or a few hours,” said Deichmann, who has already become known as the ‘German Forrest Gump’ during his run through Mexico.
From May 9, the extreme athlete will start every day early in the morning with a 3.8 km swim in the Rothsee. He will then ride 180 km on the original Challenge Roth course and run 42.2 km on the original course through Roth, in southern Germany.
Due to shipping restrictions, the swim will only take place in the Main-Danube Canal on DATEV Challenge Roth race day.
Felix Walchshöfer, Race Director at DATEV Challenge Roth, said “Jonas is an absolute inspiration. There are thousands of unique stories at DATEV Challenge Roth every year. However, Jonas’ endurance performance is unrivalled. We are incredibly proud Jonas has chosen Roth to attempt such a record and is doing good for the district in the process.”
During his challenge, Jonas Deichmann is collecting donations for the Roth Youth Fire Brigade and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. A book and a film about the project will be published and Deichmann will appear as a multilingual speaker afterwards.
Roth District Administrator Ben Schwarz said “We are very grateful that Jonas has chosen Roth for his fascinating project. As a person, he is an inspiration for everyone. With his Challenge 120, everyone in the district is invited to accompany Jonas for a few sections of his journey or to cheer him on along the route. I personally would also like to use the project to run a marathon together with Jonas.”
Every year, around 3,500 individual athletes and 700 relay teams take on ‘the world’s largest triathlon’ at DATEV Challenge Roth. The Roth district is celebrating 40 years of triathlon this year. Originating in 1984 around 7,500 volunteers and many thousands of supporters congregate at the iconic event on the international triathlon calendar. For 2024, the race was fully booked within 40 seconds.
