Dana Wagner

Born and raised in a small town near Hannover, Germany, I got involved into competitive sports at the age of 11 when I started to compete in track and field. After several successful years as a heptathlete I started concentrating on running only at the age of 16. Coincidentally I got into triathlons 3 years later when I talked to a triathlete who was in my cross country team. She invited me to the swim class that afternoon and that is when I got excited about the sport. I bought a cheap road bike and only a few weeks later I raced my first triathlon for my club’s team. It was fun and I came third in my age group and was convinced that I wanted to experience more of these races with such a great atmosphere. But even though I had a good first season with some podiums it was not until 5 years later that I started to train regularly and consistently.

The first years I just enjoyed racing without training much. But when I worked as an intern in Australia during my sports management studies I dedicated more spare time to training. When I returned to Germany I had improved a lot and had some good races. That motivated me to keep up the training.

The next year, 2009, I became German Champion Olympic Distance in my Age Group and was 3^rd fastest amateur. The same year I wanted to race my first Ironman distance race but got sick 3 days before the race. I stood there on race morning and had to ‘watch’ my race. But I didn’t want to waste my great shape so I entered the ITU Long Course European Championships in Prague two weeks later. This was a good decision and I was able to win my age group by 40 minutes crossing the finish line as second amateur, only a few seconds behind the fastest girl. 2010 I won the German Amateur Olympic Distance Championships again, this time with the fastest time over all. At the German Championships Half Distance I came 8^th, 2^nd in my age group at the German Duathlon Championships and 3^rd in my Age Group at the German Long Distance Championships in Roth. Besides this I won several races during the season.

After a successful 2010 season, 2011 was even better with two titles at German Championships (Half Distance and Amateur Olympic Distance with the fastest time overall again), a 2^nd place in my age group at the German Duathlon Championships (3^rd Amateur) and 3^rd in my AG at the German Winter triathlon Champs. But my race highlight so far was winning my age group at the ITU Long Course World Championships in Henderson, Nevada in November. Besides my own training I help other triathletes to improve their performance and support them with training plans.

After a short season break after my success at the Worlds Long Course I am now back into training and preparing for my first season as a pro with my first race being the Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka on 19^th Feb 2012. I am very happy that Xendurance supports me in my first season as a pro as Xendurance’s products make me go faster. It really makes a difference and my training is so much higher quality than without. And then, being winter in Germany now, with the first snow so close, I am very happy, that Xendurance helps strengthen my immune system and stay healthy, too.