VIII. Gay Games Cologne 2010

7:30 on Sunday morning. While some were still turning in their beds and dreaming about what happened at the party the previous night, others had to be fit already. The Triathletes opened the sporting section of the Gay Games VIII 2010 in Cologne with perfect Triathlon weather and shook off any remaining sleepiness with a leap in the Fühlinger lake.

1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running - that was the obligatory program for the first starters, who had registered for the olympic distance. Not only first in the water, but also the first over the finish line was Martin Malo from Canada with a time of 02:17: 52. The overall winner of the Sprint distance had to put a few kilometers fewer behind them. After 750 m swimming, 20 km cycling and 5.5 km running, the German Niki Abel was able to celebrate at the finish. With a time of 1:13: 04 it was not only the fastest overall time in the sprint distance but also a gold medal winning time in the age group M30. In addition to this, next to the men, the German women were also impressive in the overall standings, managing to secure one silver and one bronze (in sprint and distance) and one bronze (in Olympic distance).

At the Gay Games VIII in Cologne it isn’t all about medals and positions but, above all, having fun taking part. This was also very noticeable at the Fühlinger lake and the supervisor of the Triathlon, Sebastian Schulmeister, was impressed with the good mood so early in the morning: “The people were very enthusiastic and the spectators even partly accompanied the athletes as they swam and cycled to further encourage them. “

Altogether, 360 triathletes from all over the world were at the start on Sunday – amongst them were many achievement-oriented athletes, but of course also a wide variety of other athletes. Sebastian Schulmeister, who has already organised some Triathlon competitions in the corporate event format, was very satisfied with the results of the sportsmen and women. “The swimmers came out of the water much faster than we thought. There were some really good times. There were also many non-professional sportsmen though. Two triathletes even began with a folding bicycle.

“Alongside the two fastest athletes in the two distances there were numerous more winners in the Triathlon competition. “Due to the regulations concerning the different age groups, a great number of athletes got a medal,” said Sebastian Schulmeister. “The winners’ award ceremony lasted quite a long time, but the spectators shared the joy with all of them!" That is exactly how it should be at the Gay Games VIII 2010 in Cologne.

More photos can be found at http://www.qubesport.net/photos