Faris Al-Sultan

Faris Al-Sultan, born on 21 January 1978 in Munich to a German mother and an Iraqi father, is a German former triathlete who now works as a coach. In 2005 he became the third German to win the Ironman Hawaii, after competing there in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004. His first Ironman win came at the inaugural Ironman Arizona in 2005, and he won Ironman Lanzarote in 2013 in 8 hours 42 minutes 40 seconds. His interest in triathlon was inspired by Thomas Hellriegel. He started out as a collegiate swimmer and studied Arabic language, literature and history at LMU Munich before leaving to focus on triathlon.