ABOUT
Marten

I grew up in rural Wuustwezel in Belgium. From when I was a young kid I loved being active and have always been looking for challenges. I started swimming at 7 years old and I loved riding my bike alongside my dad during his running training. When I was 12 I took up cross country running as well, so then it was just a matter of time before I found the ultimate challenge: triathlon.

In 2009 a good friend from my swimming club, and the nephew of Marc Herremans (Ironman Hawaii weelchair winner), asked me to join his triathlonteam. Very excited for this new challenge I went all-in on this idea. With Marc as my trainer and mentor it all went very quickly and in 2011 I won my first Belgian junior title and qualified for the World Championships in China. In the years after, I managed to get some more good results, but the step from junior to elite racing was not easy.

In 2015 I made the choice to really chase my dreams and I decided to join the JFTcrew. This is an international training group under the lead of famous coach Joel Filliol. Training and travelling around the world together with some of the best triathletes gave me a new boost and my results improved tremendously. In 2016 I surprised everyone, including myself, with a 6th place at the Olympics in Rio. The years after that I showed that this was no surprise and that I am competitive with the best in the world. In 2021 I finished 4th on the Olympics in Tokio and a few months later in 2021 I became world triathlon vice-champion after placing second in the final race of the World Triathlon Series. The year after, 2022, started great with winning the Ironman 70.3 in Dubai with a world record time but in March, during a triathlon in Leeds, I fell and ended up with an ankle injury.

Training weeks of more than 30 hours of training are no exception. Triathlon is an endurance sport, it takes me to my limits every day, not only physically but also mentally. But there is nothing more rewarding than feeling like I am doing everything to reach my dreams.

At this moment, my focus has fully shifted to long-distance racing. After the Olympics in Paris, I dedicated myself to this new challenge, and it quickly became clear that this is where I truly belong. The ultimate highlight came when I claimed the title at the first T100 Series, earning the title of World Champion. I hope you follow me on this journey—I can promise you one thing, it will be exciting!