The SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon is one of the most extreme of its kind. And yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, it is an affair of the heart for many athletes. Four cantons, three Alpine passes, two lakes, one goal: that is the 226-kilometre route with 5500 metres of altitude, which 250 extreme athletes from all over the world will face on Saturday 22 June 2019.
With a 3.8km swim, it starts at dawn.
SWISSMAN 2018 finishers and their supporters celebrate at the finisher ceremony on Sunday morning.
Previous year’s winner Flora Colledge from England is back again this year.
On Saturday 22 June 2019 at five o’clock in the morning, the starting signal for the seventh SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon will be given on the Isola di Brissago in Lake Maggiore. The challenging course takes participants from the palm trees in Ticino over three Alpine passes into the Bernese Oberland and up to the eternal ice of the Jungfrau region.
Starting point as a guarantee for an unforgettable experience
Even if summer is still a little while away: Preparations for the Swiss long-distance triathlon with cult character are in full swing. Because the seventh edition of the SWISSMAN Xtreme Triathlon should also be an unforgettable adventure for all participants. But the SWISSMAN will be an unforgettable adventure above all for the 250 athletes who were able to secure a starting place. In addition to the approximately 100 Swiss, this year athletes from over 40 nations will face the 226 kilometres and an additional 5500 metres of altitude. Swimming, cycling and running, they cross the four cantons of Ticino, Uri, Valais and Bern, experiencing Switzerland at its most extreme and beautiful.
250 athletes, 250 stories
The motivations for taking part are as varied as the athletes themselves. Melanie thinks Kleine Scheidegg is always worth a trip, for Cornelia the SWISSMAN is a matter of the heart, Thomas finally wants to be part of the family and Nino still gets chills down his spine when he thinks of his wife’s finish, whom he accompanied to the SWISSMAN in 2016 as a supporter. Each athlete brings their own story, together with their supporters and the SWISSMAN crew they make the SWISSMAN what it is: a long-distance triathlon with cult character.
Premiere: Helveticman and Swissultra as guests at the Swissman
A special highlight for the SWISSMAN crew this year is the first-time participation of Peter Ackermann, initiator of the Helveticman, and Dani Meier, initiator of the Swissultra. SWISSMAN, Helveticman and Swissultra are three competitions with different focuses, held at different locations throughout Switzerland and with one common denominator: a love of the extreme.
View of the starting field
Although the experience is clearly in the foreground for most participants, one can still be curious to see how the elite athletes will do this year. Among those taking part are six-time Swissman finisher Julia Nikolopoulos from Germany, Flora Colledge from England (SWISSMAN Xtreme 2018 rank 1), Swiss Matthias Nüesch (Gigathlon 2018 rank 3; Inferno 2018 rank 5), Nicolas Beyer and Stefan Graf (Gigathlon 2018 rank 1), Italy’s Cristiano Tara (Austria Extreme 2016 rank 3; Icon Xtreme 2016 rank 3; Stone Brixia Man 2017 rank 2; Icon Xtreme 2017 rank 1) and Lorentz Elrand Linde (Swissman Xtreme 2018 rank 4) from Norway.
