Valentin Wernz

Wernz joined the triathlon section of his local sports club, Tuttlingen Sportfreunde, and by 2014 was the German junior champion, becoming the national sprint senior champion five years later when he defeated Super League star Jonas Schomberg – the only other athlete to run sub-15min for 5km on the day. On the international scene that year, he also finished third in an ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba, Australia.

One of a new wave of emerging German short course triathletes, Wernz is now coached by 2007 ITU world champion Daniel Unger, represents Hylo Team Saar in the German Bundesliga and is a regular on the World Triathlon Championship Series.

He has also tasted success in 2022, winning in Olsztyn, Poland over the super sprint distance format in the Europe Triathlon Championships. Wernz enjoys competing against the best of the world and after a couple of top 20 finishes in the World Triathlon Championship Series ready to crack the top 10.

This autumn will mark his Super League Triathlon debut and he’s particularly looking forward to racing in front of a home crowd at Munich. Wernz is not afraid of stepping out of his comfort zone either. He raced Ironman Mallorca at the end of last year, ultimately finishing 16th in 8hr 9min, but was second out of the water with a rapid 46min 38sec swim over the 3.8km.

One of Wernz’s big idols is Eliud Kipchoge, and in 2019 he travelled to Vienna to be inspired by the INEOS 1:59 Challenge where the Kenyan marathon runner became the first athlete to break 2hrs for the marathon. While Wernz isn’t planning on a similar feat any time soon, he does want to record a fast Ironman and believes with the right preparation he could go under 8hrs.

Outside of triathlon, Wernz likes to spend time relaxing with girlfriend and fellow German pro triathlete Annika Kock. He’s also a business student and will have to squeeze in the education alongside triathlon as he has a deadline of the end of next year to complete his studies.