Sometimes, knowing how a certain triathlete reached their goals can inspire you to do
better for yourself or maybe to pursue and join the world of triathlon. From being a
nobody to being an Ironman champion, some triathletes have many stories to tell.
In today's video, we'll be covering Daniel Bkkegrd's net worth and life story. So if
you are on the hunt for some motivation or maybe want to know about Dane's life, be sure
to watch this video until the end.
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Daniel Bækkegård of Denmark is one of long-distance triathlon's emerging talents,
having raced into the top ten in the PTO standings during an outstanding 2021 season. Daniel
Bkkegrd is currently among the best long-distance triathletes globally, but the road to getting
there was paved with hardship.
The 25-year-old is coming off a fantastic year in which he finished third in the IRONMAN
70.3 World Championship in St George and won Team Europe's first Collins Cup in Samorin.
But, as he prepares for the most exciting year in the sport's history in 2022, Bkkegrd
is featured in a new PTO documentary to reflect on some of the pivotal occasions in his life.
Then, he was torn between misery and delight, some of which drove him to dark depths.
Daniel's quest for celebrity began at a young age, helped as always by the most important
person in his life, his mother, Anne.
After a stellar junior swimming career in which he won 20 national titles, the 25-year-old
just moved to triathlon in 2014, and he soon showed his talent across three disciplines
instead of just one.
Bkkegrd, based in Odense, Denmark, was introduced to triathlon through the Danish Triathlon
Federation's youth program. In 2018, he made his IRONMAN 70.3 debut after quickly showing
his ability for lengthier events. Bkkegrd, who Kasper Gel coaches, shot to attention
in 2019 after winning IRONMAN Austria, his first full-distance race, which helped catapult
him into the PTO's global top 40.
The Dane celebrated his win in Austria with the 'Bkkegrd Smash,' which earned him the
year's best finish award from Triathlete magazine. Daniel also won IRONMAN 70.3 Finland in 2019,
and he finished first at IRONMAN 70.3 Tallinn in 2020.
With a history in competitive swimming, Bkkegrd conquering the first 1.9km by himself was
not surprising. His 22:45 time was over 90 seconds faster than Balazs Coke (HUN) and
nearly three minutes faster than Kienle, who had recently broken his collar bone.
With a third of the fast bike circuit finished, the Dane had a trio of German riders after
him — Andreas Dreitz, Nils Frommhold, and Kienle – but they were still more than two
minutes behind him. Bkkegrd would get it to T2 on his alone, but Dreitz (1:58:06) and
Kienle (1:57:30) were only 20 seconds behind him when they dismounted.
The German star, who Daniel views as one of his triathlon inspirations, was the closest
opponent early on, but the Dane was not fading at all on the run, clocking a 1:13:57 half
marathon to finish 1:45 ahead of Kienle.
In 2021, Bkkegrd won 70.3 races in Dubai and Lanzarote and broke the eight-hour barrier
for the full course by coming third in Tulsa. With a third-place result in the IRONMAN 70.3
World Championship in St George, he also demonstrated his big-race credentials.
With the IRONMAN World Championship title firmly in his sights, the Dane is not short
on ambition. "Winning Hawaii is my greatest desire," he adds.
Because of his swimming background, Bkkegrd's top individual rating is in the pool, while
his bike and run numbers have substantially improved since his beginnings in the sport.
He is truly a well-rounded triathlete who has no flaws.
With two podium finishes and three more top-10 finishes in 2018, Daniel Bkkegrd demonstrated
his long-distance talent.
After finishing seventh at IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella to start the year, the Dane placed third in
Challenge Finland and Challenge Walchsee, both of which were won by German great Sebastian
Kienle. He followed that up with fourth-place finishes at Challenge Peguera, and sixth place
finishes at Challenge Sardinia.
Bkkegrd's breakout season came in 2019, with a win at IRONMAN Austria in July. He won by
nearly 11 minutes in 8:14:26, with the second-best splits in each discipline (47:01, 4:28:22,
and 2:53:10). This was only eight days after winning the IRONMAN 70.3 Finland race.
In Bahrain, Bkkegrd finished second to eventual Olympic winner Kristian Blummenfelt at IRONMAN
70.3. In Pontevedra, he finished sixth in the ITU Long Distance Championship, 15th in
the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, and 16th in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship
in Nice, France.
Daniel won his only event during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season — Ironman 70.3 Tallinn. With
a 1:13:56 run split, he led out of the water and held off Germany's Sebastian Kienle.
With victories at IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai in March and IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote in October, the
Dane started and finished 2021 on a high note. Three third-place finishes, including bronze
in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George, sandwiched these performances.
Beard also had a strong showing at the inaugural Collins Cup, finishing third fastest of the
day and claiming a podium finish at IRONMAN Tulsa.
Daniel Bkkegrd finished sixth in the PTO World Rankings at the end of 2021 after demonstrating
excellent consistency and development over two years. His three greatest qualifying results
saw him jump seven spots to 27th rank at the end of 2020, but he climbed another 21 spaces
in 2021.
The PTO World Rankings were not just about bragging rights; the athletes competed for
a bonus pool of $2 million in the 'Race For The Rankings.' This was determined using rankings
from the end of the year.
Each athlete was given a point total based on the average of their three best races during
13 months. Frodeno came up short here, with his overall score of 102.82 being dragged
down by his 88.10 at Challenge Gran Canaria. Unfortunately, bad weather at IRONMAN California
cut short his racing season.
Without getting too technical and detailing the process in-depth, an athlete's score for
a particular race is determined by their time, not their finish place. The starting point
is 100 points, and their timing determines the variance below or above compared to the
PTO's 'Ideal Time' for that particular race.
Regarding which events are point-eligible, it includes any non-drafting race with at
least a professional prize pool that is longer than the Olympic distance.
Now that you already know Dane and all the hard work he does to be able to achieve his
goals, you might wonder how much his net worth is.
Well, there is no available information about his net worth, but maybe all of his income
came from being a successful triathlete.
That ends our video for today! What are your thoughts on Daniel Bækkegård's life story? Leave
a comment below to let us know!
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