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The heart-stopping final in 2003 between Lothar Leder and Chris McCormack, the soaking wet race in 2008 or the epic duel in 2018 between Daniela Bleymehl and Lucy Charles-Barclay – not to mention the many world records, are just three of the highlights from the last 20 years.

This year, triathlon in Roth is celebrating 20 years as Challenge, which was founded in 2002. To mark this very special year, TEAMCHALLENGE is planning some surprises for race week, and also before the race.

Involvement of the region and the athletes

"Our goal is to involve all athletes, triathlon fans and volunteers in this anniversary," says Kathrin Walchshöfer-Helneder, Managing Director of TEAMCHALLENGE. For the past few weeks, anyone who wants to take part has been able to upload pictures to the event website, which will be shared on the social channels of DATEV Challenge Roth powered by hep over the coming weeks and months. “This campaign has already been very well received. We are often reminiscing in the office when we look at old pictures from back then. I'm sure our followers feel the same way."

To honour the volunteers, together with partners and sponsors in the triathlon region of Roth, large billboards with a variety of themes from the past 20 years will support the anniversary. The anniversary will also play a role in the traditional Roth shop window competition. In addition, further surprises are planned during race week, all of which will take place within any Covid restrictions.

From Roth to the world

The history of Challenge in Roth began in 2002, when Herbert Walchshöfer, after leaving Ironman in 2001, created a new start and founded the new entity, "Quelle Challenge Roth". The premiere on 14 July 2002 was an immediate success. After several more successful events, the second race in the Challenge series followed in 2007 in Wanaka, New Zealand. The expansion of the Challenge brand had begun from Roth, which after the tragic death of founder Herbert Walchshöfer, was initially managed by his widow Alice and children, Felix and Kathrin.

All about the athlete

After the series expanded to include more than 35 competitions, the Walchshöfer family withdrew from Challenge Family in 2015 to allow them to focus exclusively on the triathlon classic in Roth with a small team and a lot of passion. At the same time Challenge Family, based in Almere, Netherlands, currently features over 30 races around the world. All with the aim of offering athletes the best possible race in line with the motto "all about the athlete".