Dirk Bockel
Dirk Bockel (born 18 October 1976[1]) is a professional triathlete originally from Schwaikheim, Germany. He holds Luxembourgish nationality and raced for Luxembourg in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
He led the race for over 30 minutes after he broke away from the pack during the cycling leg of the race.
He competed in his first Ironman in New Zealand in March 2009 where he placed 3rd.[2]
Dirk went on to win Ironman 70.3 Florida in May 2009, marking the first Luxembourgish to ever win an Ironman event. He crossed the finish line wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
In 2009 Dirk placed 2nd at ITU European Championships and 7th at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. This is the best result for any Luxembourg athlete in the history of triathlon up to that point. In 2011 he went on to break his own Luxembourgish record by placing 4th at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
In 2012 Dirk signed with Leopard Trek,[3] marking the first successful integration of a triathlete into a pro cycling team's infrastructure. In the same year, he qualified again for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii by winning the Ironman Regensburg with a time of 8:12[4][5]
In 2013 Dirk went on to win the largest triathlon event in the world, Challenge Roth, in a time of 7:52:01, and in 2014 he was crowned Asia-Pacific Champion at Ironman Melbourne.
In February 2015, Dirk Bockel was expelled from the Luxembougish Triathlon Federation (FLTri).[6]
References
- ↑ "Dirk Bockel - Olympics Athletes - 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ↑ "Triathlon results for Dirk Bockel". TRIResults.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ↑ leopard.lu
- ↑ sport.rtl.lu
- ↑ www.wort.lu
- ↑ rtl.lu