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ROTH. What would triathlon be without the colourful human interest stories? Once again, thousands of extraordinary people, including a number of public figures, who don't want to miss out on the excitement of the Roth Triathlon, will be taking part alongside the greats of professional triathlon.

NHL legend on his way to becoming a long-distance athlete
One of the greats in the world of sport is making his long-distance debut in Roth this year. At 2.06 metres tall, Zdeno Chára towers over most of the participants. The 47-year-old is the tallest player ever to play in the North American ice hockey league, the NHL. With 1680 games and multiple All-Star honours, "Big Z" won the Stanley Cup as captain in 2011. After his active ice hockey career, he impressively demonstrated his endurance skills over the long distance. He has completed eight marathons in the past 12 months, including the Boston Marathon and a few days later the London Marathon. His target time there: 3:11h. Triathlon and ice hockey fans around the world can look forward to seeing how the ice hockey legend with bib number 333 performs in long-distance triathlon.

Bib number 120 for the extreme athlete
On race day, but also in the days, weeks and months surrounding the race, many eyes are on Jonas Deichmann. Since 9 May, Deichmann has been on the hunt for a record in Roth and wants to complete 120 long distances in 120 days. DATEV Challenge Roth race day marks the halfway point of the "Challenge120". The extreme athlete is of course entering the race with bib number 120.

Raise awareness of Down Syndrome
Always getting 1% better is Chris Nikic's motto. With his movement, he and his friends want to raise awareness of Down Syndrome. Chris Nikic was the first person with this condition to finish an Ironman in 2020. Just under two years later, he completed Ironman Hawaii. On 7 July 2024, the 24-year-old also wants to prove his strength in the Home of Triathlon.

(Not) a machine?
Tim Bendzko doesn't have to save the world in Roth. The singer of Magenta TV's official European Championship song will take on the final part in a relay from RYZON and will run into the Roth triathlon stadium at the end of the marathon. He has often shown in the past that he keen on sport. The passionate runner has already finished the Berlin Marathon, among others, and was able to get his first taste of triathlon as a spectator in Roth last year.

From book author to ROTH finisher
Christian Krömer has a real home game coming up on 7 July. Born in Nuremberg, he has already inspired millions of people on social media with his grandmother Lissi. The Spiegel bestselling author has set himself the goal of motivating people. Motivated by his experiences as a spectator at DATEV Challenge Roth 2023, he wants to tackle the long-distance triathlon adventure himself in 2024.

Triathlon: an inclusive sport
Completing a long-distance triathlon together with his brother, who is physically severely impaired and therefore has to complete 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42.2 km of running in a special kayak or racing wheelchair, sounds almost unimaginable. This is exactly what two pairs of brothers want to tackle in Roth. The brothers Théophile and Valentin Francavilla from Team Wez in France will