Posted: July 20, 2004

Triathlon: 2004 CEO Ironman Challenge Europe At Ironman Austria

The first ever CEO Ironman Challenge 'Europe' was held over the fast and beautiful Ironman Austria course on July 4, 2004. CEO competitors were treated to many benefits including a personal host that looked after all their needs, a private dinner in a Castle on the lake, pro numbers and bike slots, and a race-day VIP program for their guests that included a helicopter tour of the race course!

The winner of the CEO Challenge was 43 year-old Wolfgang Jirout, CEO of Jirout & Partner, an Insurance Brokerage firm located in Vienna. Wolfgang was able to combine the fastest swim (1:01) and run (3:31) of the day to finish in 9:47, and qualified for Hawaii in his age group.

Second was 40 year-old Stefan Fischer, CFO of Newlab BioQuality based in Koeln, Germany. Stefan also qualified for Hawaii in his age group, finishing in 10:18. Stefan actually stopped competing at Ironman events four years ago, but came out of retirement for the CEO Challenge. With less than three months training, he did very well finishing second in the competition.

Third was Gunter Liska, General Manager of Xerox in Austria. Gunter finished in 10:30, and was able to secure the CEO Challenge Hawaii slot that rolled down from Wolfgang and Stefan.

Rounding out the field, David Perry and Joe Desena also turned in fast times. David, a 36 year-old CEO of Anacor Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, California, finished in 10:38. Joe, who is 35 and CEO of Burlington Capital Markets in New York City, had the fastest bike split of the competition (5:03), and finished in 10:54.

Feedback from the first year event was very positive, with one CEO commenting, "The race was perfectly organized, and the dinner at the lake was excellent".

Details on the 2005 CEO Challenge Europe will be released this fall. More information can be found at www.ceochallenges.com, or by contacting Ted Kennedy at Ted@ironmanusa.com.