Jim Thijs Athlete
Jim Thijs (born 13 June 1980 in Leuven) is a Belgian pro triathlete who may consider himself a top competitor at the Xterra circuit. At the 2010 Xterra World Championships, he finished 10th.In 1995 Jim raced his first triathlon in Aarschot. He had a very hard time to finish the 750m in freestyle, the breaststroke swimmers exited the water with him. From 1996 he started focusing on triathlon, leaving the other sports behind him.In 2003, 2004 and 2005 Jims main goal was doing Ironman races. He won Ironman Malaysia and Ironman Lanzarote in the 18-24 age group. He qualified for Ironman Hawaii twice. Finishing 87th was his best result.After 3 years of Ironman training Jim decided to stop practicing triathlon and start doing mountainbiking instead. In his first Xterra races, Jim was able to place himself amongst the best of Europe. He evolved from a European top level racer to a world class racer, finishing 10th at the 2010 Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii.
