Ironically, one of the best triathletes in the world is thinking about burning fat. Does the self-optimization mania not stop at professionals? Has Jan Frodeno had to pay for it in recent years? Our author cares about the hero.
When Jan Frodeno, the triathlon star par excellence from Germany in recent years, had to give up at Challenge Roth a few days ago, I was really shocked. It was a horrible image that I still have in my mind: Frodeno lying on his back, in the shadow of a master carpenter, his face buried in his hands, tears.
Then his first statement: “Unfortunately, I fucked up” – or flippantly in German: “I’ve really messed up”. Immediately I asked myself: Did he have to get to the twilight of his career to understand that at some point you pay for not treating your body well? What if you just always want more? Has he got to this point now?
Mike Kleiß has been doing sports since he was a child. “If you move, you achieve more” is his motto in life. Running was always his favorite topic. For seven years he has been running between 15 and 20 kilometers almost every day, often in marathons and sometimes in ultra marathons. So far, our columnist has published two books on running. He is the founder and managing director of the communications agency GOODWILLRUN. Mike Kleiß lives with his family in Hamburg and Cologne. He writes about running here every Thursday.
Jan Frodeno is a role model for many runners. He is ranked number one in the best list of German triathletes on the Ironman distance. “Frodo” is not only incredibly successful, he is known for his discipline.
He is 194 cm tall and weighs 75 kg. Pretty little for an athlete of his profile. More and more athletes are becoming obsessed with slimming. I have raised the issue of anorexia in competitive athletes a number of times. Yes, everyone is responsible for their own body.
However, professional athletes bear a great deal of responsibility – not only for themselves, but also for their fans. They should set an example of a healthy lifestyle and show that you should take care of yourself, eat a balanced diet and also take breaks – that you don’t have to torture yourself, that your body needs energy.
In an interview with FOCUS Online a few years ago, Jan Frodeno struck worrying tones that made me very thoughtful. I couldn’t forget them, they were like a kind of warning to me: “I have an espresso for breakfast. Nothing more,” Frodo said at the time.
When asked if that was the basis for the first daily unit – a quick 10 kilometer run – and why he did it, he replies: “Because it is by far the best and most effective form of fat burning”.
A man who burns several thousand calories a day through his training and admits in the same interview that he often cannot eat up the calories he has burned out is actually thinking about burning more fat.
That still not only sounds absurd, it is. The statement “I don’t eat pasta anymore. Far too many calories.” does not necessarily make Jan Frodeno’s attitude to the subject of nutrition any better.
Don’t get me wrong: Eating should never become a religion. Eating is a private matter and a personal choice. However, Jan Frodeno is in the public eye and paints a completely wrong picture for anyone who admires and emulates him.
It is alarming that Frodeno is extremely underweight given his weight and size – if his own statements are correct. And that as a top athlete. Nevertheless, he thinks about further fat burning and too many calories – a dangerous game with health.
Not just for Frodeno himself. He once had to cancel his participation in the Ironman in Kona/Hawaii. The reason: a stress fracture on the hip. Nobody is allowed to speculate here. So I don’t want to add myself to the often long list of sports nutrition experts.
What is proven, however, is the fact that one of the most common causes of stress fractures is often malnutrition, and this has been researched multiple times in numerous large studies.
After Jan Frodeno had recovered a bit from Challenge Roth, he said: “I’m in the autumn of my career, but definitely not in winter yet”. Frodeno has always been up for strong sentences. That certainly makes him a little bit different as a person. However, I myself would wish that he would also become a little wiser.
There are an incredible number of runners who are based on Jan Frodeno. And he should be more careful with himself and the signals he sends out. Again: He not only bears responsibility for himself, but also as a role model for people who look to him for guidance. That’s how it works.
From overweight chain smoker to marathon runner – a success story
Read all of Mike Kleiß’s columns here.
