Two teams represented the university at the cross-triathlon competition at Lake Olbersdorf.
Flying beach volleyballs, hundreds of people with race numbers on and a bike under their arm as well as a thrilling adrenaline atmosphere, which was additionally fueled by bright sunshine - that was the O-SEE-Challenge 2018.
It is no coincidence that the O-SEE Challenge, which also hosted the XTERRA European Championship this year, attracts triathletes and sports enthusiasts from all over the world to Upper Lusatia every year. It is now one of the world's best cross-triathlon competitions. Naturally, the university could not miss out on a major event of this magnitude and was on site in triplicate.
Athletes and visitors were given the opportunity to "cycle" their own fresh fruit drink on the smoothie bike from Mach-Mit-Umweltmanagement.
In addition, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Hentschel, Dr. Rafael Cavalcante Cordeiro and Dipl.-Ing. Maria Urban from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering took part in the team challenge (in the following order: swimmer, cyclist and runner). From the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology (IPM) are M.Eng. Christian Vogel, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Sebastian Braun and Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Daniel Fiß competed in the Team Challenge (male).
"It was important for us to start as a university team and represent the HSZG and our faculty," says Maria Urban, who works as a lecturer for special tasks at the university and completed the 9 km running course for the Mechanical Engineering team at the O-See-Challenge. And indeed, the university can be proud of its teams. Team Mechanical Engineering came 46th out of a total of 60 teams in its category, while Team IPM came 29th out of 50 participating teams in its division.
"It went well. We arrived safely and are happy with ourselves," explains Maria Urban, but also admits: "Of course it could have been better. We definitely want to be back next year and do better." She can also imagine competing as an individual and completing the reduced triathlon. Other colleagues have also announced their interest in a relay in 2019. Of course, we are already looking forward to the next O-See-Challenge.
Our teams were supported by University Sports and the Public Relations Office. A big thank you goes to the Technical Administration for the logistical support with the stand equipment.