Jonas Deichmann: The Triathlon Challenge Roth 120 times in a row

The extreme athlete and adventurer Jonas Deichmann, who has won several world records, is embarking on his biggest challenge to date, the "Challenge 120". In this project, Deichmann will complete 120 long-distance triathlons in a row, inspired by the DATEV Challenge Roth course. This means that every day over a period of four months (120 days), from 9 May to 9 September 2024, he will swim 3.8 km, cycle 180 km and run 42 km. That adds up to 456 km of swimming, 21,000 km of cycling and 5063 km of running.

The Deichmann event also has a good cause. All proceeds raised will be donated to the Roth district's children's and youth fire brigade and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. District Administrator Ben Schwarz is enthusiastic about the upcoming event series and sees Deichmann's extraordinary challenge as an inspiring opportunity for the community. Citizens are invited to accompany Jonas Deichmann on parts of the route or cheer him on from the roadside. Schwarz himself is also planning to run a marathon alongside Deichmann.

Every day: 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and 42.2 km run at the end

Deichmann's daily routine for these 120 days looks like this: Every morning Jonas starts with a 3.8 km swim in Lake Roth, followed by a 180 km bike ride and then a 42.2 km run on the original Challenge Roth course. Fans and triathlon enthusiasts will be able to follow the extreme athlete's progress all the way thanks to live tracking.

As with Jonas Deichmann's previous projects, this monumental undertaking will also serve as material for a book and a film that not only highlights Deichmann's challenge, but also the fascination for the sport of triathlon in the district of Roth. Deichmann will join the professionals, 3,500 individual starters and 700 relay teams on the course at the halfway point on 7 July 2024.

Felix Walchshöfer, race director at DATEV Challenge Roth, says:

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 that Jonas has chosen Roth to attempt such a record and is doing good for the district in the process. - Felix Walchshöfer, race director at Challenge Roth

Triathlon around the World - now in fast motion

Deichmann, who completed the first global triathlon in 2021, became known worldwide with his resulting Spiegel bestseller and a Netflix documentary. The "Triathlon around the World" was a 14-month, 120 long-distance triathlon - the new project is another chance for him to test his limits.

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. - Jonas Deichmann

DATEV Challenge Roth has been a celebrated triathlon festival for 40 years and attracts around 3500 individual starters and 700 relay teams every year. Every year, 7500 volunteers and hundreds of thousands of supporters create the unique atmosphere. For the 2024 edition, the starting places were fully booked within 40 seconds.

3 world records by Jonas Deichmann:

1. Panamericana bike recordJonas Deichmann broke the previous world record for the Panamericana route between August and November 2018 by cycling 23,112 kilometres unassisted. He reached Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego after 97 days, 21 hours and 10 minutes. In the process, he crossed 14 countries, 5 time zones and all climate zones.
2. Eurasia ChallengeJonas Deichmann set a new world record in July 2017 by travelling the distance from Cabo da Roca (Portugal) to Ufa (Russia) in just 25 days, 3 hours and 38 minutes. This corresponds to an average of 254.46 kilometres per day.
3. Triathlon around the worldFrom 26 September 2020, Jonas Deichmann completed the first triathlon around the world - in 430 days. He swam 450 kilometres in the Adriatic Sea without an accompanying boat, covered around 21,000 kilometres on his bike and set another world record in the process.

Although not an official world record, it was just as extreme recently his Trans America Twice. On 28 June 2023, he started in New York and cycled to Los Angeles. After arriving 48 days later, he ran a second route back to NYC in 100 days.