Florian Angert

Florian, or Flo, came relatively late to triathlon but he has made his mark in double-quick time.

The German's first season as a pro was 2017 and the following year proved the breakthrough campaign.

Third place in a stacked field at The Championship in Samorin, after leading solo from the front with a live global audience watching, brought him to the attention of the triathlon masses. He then followed up with two IRONMAN 70.3 victories.

First up was Jönköping in July when he just got the better of a thrilling duel with Pieter Heemeryck, followed by Rügen in September when he beat Patrick Lange, who a few weeks later defended his World Championship title at Kona with a record-breaking display.

Florian’s momentum continued in 2019 as he landed Challenge Prague with a dominant display and then marked his first race at the full distance with a stunning victory at IRONMAN Barcelona.

Making a splash is something this former semi-pro swimmer has done throughout his sporting career. He swam competitively from six onwards, was German champion in his age group over a range of freestyle distances and also took part in the 2010 Junior European Championships in Helsinki.

The move to triathlon came in 2011 and he explains: "It was fun right from the beginning, and I got better day by day”.

His performances soon attracted attention when he was asked to join the youth team of ERDINGER Alkoholfrei, and he has never looked back.

Angert was part of the senior professional team at the start of 2017 and learned plenty in that first season before the big results started to roll in from 2018 onwards. But it was his victory in Barcelona in 2019 which moved him up another level.

His time of 7:45:05 set a new IRONMAN best for the year, was a Barcelona course record and also smashed the fastest-ever time from a rookie by seven minutes. It also qualified him for Kona 2020 and, though that Hawaii debut was delayed, an exciting future awaits.

Florian is loving the journey so far, and when asked what is most proud of, the answer positively glows.

"I can call triathlon my job, that my family and friends fully support it. For me, it's about improving all the time and competing with other people all around the world."