What are his plans for 2022? How does he feel about the Ironman World Championship moving to St. George? What are his secrets to reaching his full potential? In a very honest interview with the Global Triathlon Network, Jan Frodeno gives the answer to some very interesting questions, while he unravels some common misconceptions people have about him.
Frodeno explains how he learned to surround himself with people that are better at certain things than he is himself, and he debunks a few prejudices that many people seem to have about the German. “That’s a piece of prejudice that is as stone written as everything”, Frodeno comments when asked about his eye for detail and need for structure. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, but everybody thinks I’m a meticulous guy, and I’m super structured and super planned. You’ve seen me…I don’t think I’ve ever been on time for any of our sessions”, he refers to meetings with the GTN hosts. “But I would say, probably it’s the reason why I feel at home here too”, Frodeno says about Girona, Spain. “I’ve got a Mediterranean spirit. I’m quite about going with the flow. Working things out of the cuff, which I think is a good quality to have for Ironman. But I do surround myself with people who analyze the data that I produce, and I do like to listen to them. I trust them enough to actually realize that’s a very important stepping stone. I almost need their structure to make my life work.”
“I take great interest in learning from people who are smarter than me and know their stuff”, Frodeno adds. “Because somewhere along the line of being at the Olympics and thinking I’ve got everything under cover, and I’m the men at everything, I came to realize that I’m actually only good at very few things. And that’s why I seem to have a good hand at finding people who are good at the other things that I’m not good at, and admitting that I’m not good at it.”
On the Ironman World Championship moving from Kona to St. George for the beginning of 2022, Frodeno comments: “You can’t move Wimbledon to Yorkshire. It’s not the same, you know? And especially not in one year. I’m not saying we can’t have a revolving system in the future and that I wouldn’t support it. But for me as an athlete what I burn for, what my heart burns for, and what I’m happy to spend time away from my family for, would possibly only be Kona. Am I looking forward to a kick ass race? And I’m I going to be there? Absolutely. But what gets me fired up is Kona. Therefor, I will be at both and try to do my very best. But my career end, hope, dream, wish and goal, would be another Kona…”
