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On October 26, the starting gun will go off on the island of Big Island. Then, Christian Schiwek will be standing in the bay of the small town of Kailua-Kona and giving it his all for at least nine hours: first, he will swim 3.86 kilometers through the Pacific, then cycle 180.25 kilometers through the lava desert, and finally run 42.195 kilometers – at least along the coast. For the preparation for the World Championship, the English Garden still has to suffice. Where Königin- and Ohmstraße intersect, a small path leads over the rushing Schwabinger Bach into the southern part of the English Garden. This is where the TUM alumnus regularly begins his kilometer-long training rounds.

FROM YOUTH TRIATHLONS TO THE IRONMAN IN HAWAII

Christian Schiwek began competitive swimming at the age of six and completed his first youth triathlons at 16. Hawaii had always been a goal, but for a long time, it remained just a dream—the birthplace of the Ironman, a wish for many triathletes. During his chemistry studies in Heidelberg, there wasn’t much room for training—lots of lab work, little flexibility.

After his master’s degree, Christian Schiwek decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the TUM Chair of Organic Chemistry I under Professor Dr. Thorsten Bach. “That was one of the best decisions I made at 25,” he says today. “TUM is the best university in Germany, you have to say that. Plus, I like the mountains.”

At TUM, he not only earned his doctorate, but he also met his girlfriend at the chair and started running again. Initially with colleagues, regularly, three times a week before university, five kilometers, “very relaxed,” as Christian Schiwek says. In 2021, he participated in the Munich Marathon. Afterwards, the TUM alumnus got back on his racing bike, participated in a few triathlons in the region, and the thought of Hawaii began to tickle again.

THE TRAINING PLAN IS BUILT AROUND THE 40-HOUR WORKWEEK

In the fall of 2022, Christian Schiwek sought professional help from Stefan Drexl, also a former TUM student in sports sciences. Since then, Drexl has been creating a training plan that fits around Christian Schiwek’s 40-hour job at the pharmaceutical company Roche: at least eight hours a week, and up to twenty during competition phases. “I regularly go to bed between 9:00 and 9:30 PM and get up at six, no matter what,” says Christian Schiwek with a laugh.

The other stations of the week: the indoor pool and track in Penzberg, his workplace, a bike route through Ismaning, Garching, Freisinger Moos, the Cosimabad, and the English Garden. Every day is full, except Friday, which is an active recovery day, only stretching.

“I know that sounds very intense,” says Christian Schiwek, “but for me, it’s also a balance. The nice thing about triathlon is that with a lot of input, you also get a lot of output, because you can directly influence your performance.”

That could have been the end of his dream, but three months later, in August, Christian Schiwek was back at the start of the Ironman race. This time, in Frankfurt, it was his last chance to qualify for the 2024 World Championship, the next opportunity wouldn’t come for another two years. “There was no Plan B for our summer vacation this year,” says Christian Schiwek with a grin. The accommodation in Hawaii had been booked since Hamburg, giving up was not an option.

NINE HOURS WITH YOURSELF

The Ironman in Frankfurt was tough. Continuous rain, hail, and dirt spraying from the bike wheels into his face – the TUM alumnus remembers it well. The motivation was at rock bottom, and Christian Schiwek was struggling. “You’re occupied with yourself for nine hours,” he says, and on that competition day in August, the question of “why” often arose in him. “You don’t find an answer in such moments; you just keep going,” he says.

Also, because of the support. Friends from his hometown Ludwigshafen had come especially, as well as fellow students from Heidelberg, his parents, and his girlfriend Simone from Munich. They all spread out along the competition route and cheered him on. Nine hours and 17 seconds, that’s how long Christian Schiwek fought his way through in Frankfurt. It was enough. “At the finish line, I cried first,” he says.

He and his girlfriend Simone will spend three and a half weeks in Hawaii, the place where the Ironman was invented, the place the TUM alumnus always wanted to go. “The best part,” says Christian Schiwek, “will be turning onto Ali‘i Drive into the finish area at sunset. No matter how the race goes, that will be fulfillment enough.”