Dutch banker Steven Van Groningen (in picture), head of Raiffeisen Bank in Romania, who has recently taken part in the Ironman European Championship came out 77th out of 186 contestants in his age category. He was the only contestant from Romania who signed up for this competition. Van Groningen swam 3.8 km, went by bike on 180 km and ran 42.2 km. He finished all these activities in 11 hours and 44 minutes. This was the second time Van Groningen participated to the Ironman competition. The first time was in 2007, when he turned 50.

Earlier this year, Van Groningen also took part in the Thomas Cook Ironman in 70.3 Mallorca, where he ranked 49th out of 154 in his age category, 50 to 54 years old.

“Ironman represents a comeback to sports for me. I performed sports when I was a student and took part in two World Championships. Why Iron Man? It is an intense competition that I already took in 2007, when I turned 50. A year ago, I said I should try again,” Van Groningen said during a recent conference in Bucharest.

The Ironman event took place in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 24. 58 professionals and 2,450 age-group athletes raced the “longest day of the year“, with a challenge of 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and a marathon final of 42.2 km. For next year's race, that will take place on July 8, registration has already been closed, after the maximum number of contestants, 2,800, has been reached.

editor@romania-insider.com