by Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- For German triathlete Patrick Lange, a life without sports seems impossible to imagine.

Ahead of the men's 2025 Ironman World Championships in Nice this Sunday, the 39-year-old three-time winner is eager to repeat his success from last year while reflecting on his early years.

Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 8 or 9, Lange said his mother took him to sports instead of making him take medication. He participated in motorsports, mountain biking and athletics with his father, who was a runner.

He won the 1999 German under-15 championship and achieved several victories in mountain biking. A bike crash led him to triathlon at age 16.

"This sport helped me calm down and organize the chaos in my mind," he says. Today, sports are his life's elixir.

He said last year's success in Hawaii gave him inner peace, despite having won the ultra-event twice before, in 2017 and 2018.

Lange knows that competing at the highest level in triathlon isn't "something I will do for another 10 years, but I try to enjoy the last maybe two years."

The 2025 competition provides him the chance to compete against the sport's younger generation, as he is the oldest starter. Despite his age and experience, he is motivated by "showing all, I am still here, and resilience is paying off."

Next to several promising German contenders, a group of Scandinavian athletes - Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden, Casper Stornes and Magnus Ditlev - along with French athlete Sam Laidlow, are mentioned as potential winners.

Despite a rocky 2025 season, hindered by various injuries, his passion for the sport remains strong. "Some might see it as torture, I don't."

He enjoys constantly exploring new training methods and pushing his limits, he said. He is eager to see how far he can go, adding that mental challenges bring him happiness.

"But as a pleasant side effect, I am aware of how much we athletes influence other people, and that makes me happy."

Receiving stories from fans about their journey into sport "makes me love triathlon even more than before," he said. One follower told him that he had lost 60 kilograms (132 pounds) and now works out every day. "That's incredible and is enriching my life," Lange said.

After two events in Nice, France, the men's Ironman is returning to Hawaii in 2026. Lange said that not having won the European competition yet is extra motivation, and his closest rival Laidlow has never won in Hawaii, so "we will have something to sort out for next year too," the German added with a smile. ■