Ian Cooke’s European and World Quadrathlon Championships Tour!

European Sprint Distance Quadrathlon Championships – Kassel
11th May 2025

Ian Cooke went out to the ‘European Sprint Distance Quadrathlon Championships’ in Kassel in Germany.
He has a fantastic race and flew the GB Quadrathlon Flag in great style, big thanks for his race report below.

Kassel, a beautiful city in the middle of Germany, is a place of parks, wooded green hills, lakes, a river, health spas, great food, museums, culture and people who are just so friendly. It is home to just over 200,000 people and was where the brothers Grimm spent all of their young adult lives from their early teenage years, gathering up folk tales and publishing them into the world renowned fairy tales that we all know today, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood. It is also home to the wonderful Bernd Scheller and his fantastic team, who did such a fantastic job of organizing and running a hugely successful European Sprint Distance Quadrathlon Championships.

The race was centered around the headquarters of WVC Kassel (Wassersport Verein Cassel – Kassel Watersports Club) on the banks of the Fulda river.
It consisted of a 500m swim across the river and back on a triangular anti-clockwise course. Next was a short run from the beach leading to the bike transition and then onto the 18k bike course, with 3 laps of a fast and flat course, based upon the Auedamm, the riverside road, lined with boat clubs and restaurants, that was closed off to vehicles, providing a safe course to race along.
Third came the 4.5k excellent kayak course, a short crossing of the Fulda river and then off downstream to the turn point and back to the HQ.
Finally, the run leg was a fast course around the Bugasee, a beautiful lake just across the river.
So, onto race day, the 11th May and a relatively early start-time of 08:45, in order to enjoy the benefit of closed roads, before they reopened at 11:00. Early races mean early rises, so a 06:15 alarm for breakfast and then fast forward to the start, via transition kit storage, safety briefings and meeting so many brilliant fellow athletes, forming an entry list of 57 individual athletes and relay teams.
All of a sudden, a loud countdown begins, this is now really happening and we’re off, fast and furious through, over and under the water to the first buoy. Around the first, around the second, sight for the beach, hit the beach, legs a bit wobbly and then push on to the transition.

The next leg is way more familiar for me personally and the computer reads 39-40kph, six sets of dead turns, one at each end of three laps and then back in, rack the bike and push on again.
The kayak leg is an absolute pleasure and the evident standard of so many paddlers in very fast craft is a joy to be a part of.
Now the race is nearly done, just make sure that there is enough energy left to finish it off with a decent run for the last 5k’s. This last event is like a video game on fast forward, just push and push, the scenery a blur. Wow, so quickly the last bridge is in sight, over the bridge, turn right, turn right again, turn right a final time and then lift the tempo all the way under the finishing arch. That was it, that was the day, that was the goal – now done.

This was a fantastic event, memories created by and held dear for a lifetime for so many people on that journey on that day.
The race overall was won by the incredible all round athlete and multi world champion Ferenc Csima of Hungary, with a time of 1:21:28. The women’s race was won by home club athlete Anna-Lena Klee, who put in amazing split times across all events and won with a time of 1:31:13.

For me, this journey into quadrathlon started eight months ago over at Brigg, doing the September sprint event and here in Kassel I was really pleased to win the O60 age category European title with a time of 1:34:54.

Thank you so much to Bernd and his entire team for their expertise, professionalism, attention to detail and sheer hard work and dedication in making this event so successful. Well done to all the athletes who took part, putting the hours in across all weathers in training and then coming out here and putting themselves on the line in this great sport, fantastic!

The following weekend Ian travelled to the next World Cup Race in

Gyekyenes, Hungary, competing in the Quadrathlon Middle Distance World Championships.

The event consisted of a 1.5k swim in the crystal clear lake, followed by a 40k/25 mile bike leg on a flat and windy course, with crosswinds constantly knocking the bike about.
On the bike leg I was pleased to put in a 1:00:40 time, so under the hour with the running to and from transition removed.
Next up was the 10k kayak, with 6 laps around an offshore island, with choppy wavy water and thunder and lightning constantly banging and flashing all around…. I was glad to get off the water……
Finally, the 10k run came around and I was running on fumes a little bit, but just clocked along at 4:30k’s, so all good.
I finished first in my age category of 1956-1965 birth year (O60’s) with 3:33:30 to get age group World Champion.
5th overall in the race, 10 minutes behind 3rd overall athlete.
The men’s event was won by multiple world champion Federic Csima of Hungary with 2:55:17.
The women’s event was won by the wonderful Susanne Walter with 3:37:09, adding another world championship win to her growing list of world titles.

Thanks to Ian for his reports, its a great start to his 2025 Quadrathlon Season.

The next WORLD CUP RACE is at Brigg on 1st June, thanks to Lincsquad for hosting this event and the BQA wish everyone racing a great race and lets hope our British weather is kind!

Here are the WORLD CUP RESULTS so far this season –

World Cup Results after 2 Races

WQF National Trophy after 2 Races