UTMB U-turn for triathlon GOAT Jan Frodeno after he says “I figured it’s the same as Kona”

Jan Frodeno, one of the all-time triathlon greats, has postponed his plans to tackle trail running’s biggest race later this month.

German superstar Frodeno won Olympic gold in 2008 and then went on to make a bold bid for GOAT status at long-distance as he collected pretty much every title that mattered.

He rounded it off in style too when he landed the PTO’s US Open in 2023 in what was his retirement year.

‘The Little Swiss Sister’

Since then he’s become arguably the sport’s best pundit with his insights into the T100 over the last couple of seasons.

He announced in July that he was taking a huge step outside of his comfort zone after confirming his ‘possibly dumb’ decision to compete in the gruelling OCC UTMB event across the Swiss Alps.

Regarded as an iconic challenge for mid-distance and ultrarunners, the 56km race – nicknamed ‘The Little Swiss Sister’ – forms part of the UTMB World Series Finals.

However he’s now performed something of a U-turn, though one that’s earned him plenty of respect from the trail running community.

‘I’ll honor the race’

Writing – and speaking – on Instagram, he explained: “Unfortunately, my plans for running the OCC UTMB event, the 56K, will have to wait another lap around the sun.

“To be honest, I didn’t quite understand the qualifying process. I ran UTMB here in Andorra, but it’s a little bit more complex, getting stones and all sorts of things.

“So I figured it’s the same as Kona. People spend a long time qualifying for this.

“I’ll honor the race, get my qualification and make sure I’ll see you there next year. For now, I wish everybody the best of luck for this year’s edition.”