World Triathlon

What is an athlete to do in the face of such a seemingly immovable barrier between years of hard work in training and the quest for gold, specifically when that barrier is the mighty Jetze Plat H2?

The men’s wheelchair category in Para triathlon has been dominated by the Dutch powerhouse for a decade. Until last year, every world title since 2017 had been his, two Paralympic titles likewise. Hottest on his heels in Tokyo was Austria’s Florian Brungraber H2, an outstanding final 5km in the racing wheelchair securing the silver ahead of another Dutchman Geert Schipper H2.

Now, Florian is hungry for his next bite at the Paralympic cherry, even if he feels realism is as important as optimism going into the race on Sunday 1 September.

“When you take a realistic view on this issue, then it’s clear that Jetze Plat is the dominator. To beat him during the race, it seems that that he needs to have some technical issues, as was last year at the World Championships. Then you have to be in the area where you can reach him. Last year I was also struggling with my wheel so it was not possible for me, but yeah, it can happen. Not just to him, of course, but if it does, you have to be close.”

“For me, the more interesting competition will be with Geert Schipper. In the last year it was very often quite close between him and me… if my body works, then it could be realistic to beat Schipper. But for sure I think he will also be in good condition, much better condition than he was in Tokyo.”

Florian used to work with his father as handler, now it is his girlfriend who travels with him and supports both around and during the races. The relationship is a vital one in the pressure pot of a Paralympic race, where mistakes can prove costly and F1 pitstop-like efficiency could be the difference between leaving Paris with a Paralympic medal, or simply memories.

“Normally I’m always through transition with my girlfriend, so we are a perfect team. The handler has quite a hard job because the time slot where they can help is quite small, but the impact during the race can be quite big. If you lose five seconds in transition that sounds not that much, but trying to make up five seconds in a race is quite a hard job.”

Then there are the specific challenges of a Paris course that has rarely been out of the headlines. When it comes to the prospect of swimming in the Seine, Florian is in no doubt that the strong current will be a big factor in how the race breaks up early on as the athletes have to make the turn and swim into the flow of water for the second half of the 750m.

“If the current is as fast as we saw it during the Olympic Games, I’m not sure that everyone will handle it. Of course, it is nice to be directly in Paris, but I’m there for the race.”

As an H2 athlete, meaning there is some function in the legs, Florian, along with Plat and Schipper, will start the race three minutes the H1 athletes like Nic Beveridge H1 and Giovanni Achenza H1, and straight into the chase from the start horn.

“… for sure this has an impact during the swim and also during the transitions both in the handbike and wheelchair. Most athletes I cannot reach during the swim. I am sitting there and seeing the athletes swimming for three minutes. That means 200 meters, or with the current much more. Then you realise how much time that is.”

For the full Paralympic schedule and course information, click here.