Jan Frodeno Athlete
Jan Frodeno (born 18 August 1981) is a German triathlete. He won gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Born in Cologne, Frodeno started out as a swimmer in South Africa at the age of 15, and he entered triathlon in 2000. He then went to Germany to compete in the Bundesliga, and qualified for the national team in 2002. He currently trains at the Olympic Training Centre in Saarbrücken. Before his Olympic victory, his best result was placing sixth in the 2007 World Championships, and winning the German Championship the same year. He had previously also placed second and third in various races of the World Cup from 2005 to 2008. His gold medal win at the 2008 Summer Olympics was a surprise. He beat the 2000 Olympic champion Simon Whitfield in a sprint finish, while the hot pre-race favorite and 2008 World Champion Javier Gómez finished in fourth place. The victory came the day after his twenty-seventh birthday.
