View source for Faris Al-Sultan

{{Short description|German triathlete (born 1978)}}
{{Expand German|topic=bio|Faris_Al-Sultan|date=May 2020}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2009}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox triathlete
 | name = Faris al-Sultan
 | image = Faris Al-Sultan Ironman 70.3 Austria 2012.jpg
 | caption = 
 | country = Germany
 | nickname = ''The Sultan of Sweat''
 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|01|21|df=y}}
 | birth_place = [[Munich]], Germany
 | pb = 8:14:00 (2005)
 | show-medals = yes
 | medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry | {{GER}} }}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[triathlon]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Ironman World Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[2005 Ironman World Championship|2005]] | Individual }}
{{MedalBronze| [[2004 Ironman World Championship|2004]] | Individual }}
{{MedalBronze| [[2006 Ironman World Championship|2006]] | Individual }}
}}

'''Faris al-Sultan''' ({{langx|ar|فارس السلطان}}, born 21 January 1978) is a German former [[Triathlon|triathlete]] who is now active as a coach. In 2005, he was the third German to win the [[Ironman World Championship|Ironman Hawaii]]. He is listed in the best list of German triathletes on the Ironman distance.

== Career ==
Faris al-Sultan is known for his strengths in all three triathlon disciplines. In the running segment, he has a consistent but uncommon form of a long stride and loose arms, described as "looping." In competition, he typically wears a [[Speedo]] and half-singlet. His interest in triathlon was inspired by [[Thomas Hellriegel]], a German triathlete.

Faris was born 21 January 1978 in [[Munich]], Germany to a German mother and an [[Iraq]]i father. He started out as a collegiate swimmer before taking on triathlon. His first Ironman in 1997 was [[Lanzarote]] Ironman, which he completed in a time of 10:33. Al-Sultan achieved his first Ironman win at the inaugural running of Ironman Arizona in 2005. He competed at the Ironman world championships in Hawaii in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004 before finally winning there in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ironman.com/assets/files/results/worldchampionship/2005.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 November 2015 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232300/http://www.ironman.com/assets/files/results/worldchampionship/2005.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The favorite that year, fellow German [[Normann Stadler]], withdrew due to flat tyres. In al-Sultan's return to defend the title in 2006, he placed third. At the 2007 championships, Faris did not compete due to a case of [[gastroenteritis]] the morning of the race. He said choosing not to compete "was one of the hardest decisions of my life."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faris-al-sultan.de/newsarchiv/ |title=Faris al-Sultan News Archive |publisher=[[faris-al-sultan.de]] |access-date=2008-04-16 |date=16 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504164646/http://www.faris-al-sultan.de/newsarchiv/ |archive-date=4 May 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref> He was the winner at the 2013 Ironman [[Lanzarote]] on 18 May, completing with an overall time of 8:42:40.

== Private life ==
Al-Sultan's father Talib came to Germany from Iraq in 1958. His mother Lydia is from Munich, where his father works as the head of a translation agency. Faris Al-Sultan attended high school in Munich/Moosach. He was a graduate student at [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich]], working on a [[Master's degree]] in [[Arabic language]], literature, and history. Al-Sultan dropped out of graduate school before completing his degree to focus on triathlons.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Triathlet Faris Al-Sultan: "Man braucht die Angst im Nacken"|language=de|work=FAZ.NET|url=https://www.faz.net/1.387094|access-date=2020-05-19|issn=0174-4909}}</ref>

In April 2014, his son was born; since November 2014 he has been married to former triathlete Ina Reinders<ref>{{Cite web|title=Detail|url=https://www.tri2b.com/triathlonnews/detail/article/hochzeit-faris-al-sultan-und-ina-reinders-gaben-sich-das-jawort-4264/|last=Eggebrecht|first=H.|date=2020-05-13|website=Triathlon auf tri2b.com {{!}} das Tri-Portal für Einsteiger bis zum Profi|language=de|access-date=2020-05-19}}</ref> and in January 2016, their daughter was born.

Faris al-Sultan is the coach of [[Patrick Lange]], 3-time Ironman World Champion [[triathlete]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patrick-lange.org/en/profile/|title=Profile – PATRICK LANGE – TRIATHLETE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-01|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701115857/https://www.patrick-lange.org/en/profile/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.faris-al-sultan.de/ Official Website]

{{Commons category}}

{{Footer Ironman Triathlon World Champions men|state=uncollapsed}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan, Faris}}
[[Category:Ironman world champions]]
[[Category:German male triathletes]]
[[Category:German people of Iraqi descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Munich]]
[[Category:Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni]]


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