Award for Daniela Ryf

Daniela Ryf received a special sports prize in Schönenwerd, Solothurn. The triple Ironman World Champion of Hawaii has announced she will pass on the 5,000 franc prize to the Solothurn Triathlon and Duathlon Centre (TLS).

Awarded by the cantonal government of Solothurn, the prize recognises Ryf's extraordinary achievements and successes at the highest international level. "I would like to thank Canton Solothurn for this award. This is a great honour for me and I am very pleased because I can now continue to support young athletes," said Ryf.

Ryf, who was Swiss Athlete of the Year 2015, is a patron of the TLS centre and is commited to supporting developing young athletes as she was supported as a young athlete with talent.

Triathlon and Duathlon Centre Solothurn TLS

The TLS is a regional performance centre for young athletes and performance-oriented elite triathletes and duathletes from the Solothurn region. With quality facilities and infrastructure in place and 420 training sessions provided each year, the centre offers an optimal environment for athlete development while ensuring continuing academic studies at a high level. The task of the TLS is to support young talented triathletes and duathletes for a career as professional competitive athletes. The programme has the potential to increase the number of Swiss athletes competing at international level. Besides Daniela Ryf, who supports the project as patron, Olympic champion Nicola Spirig is also involved in the TLS with the Spirit Academy.

A supportive network and ideal conditions are provided for the young athletes. The double burden of school and competitive sports is optimally coordinated so that they can optimise the training provided by quality coaching. The TLS has been in operation for five years and has demonstrated success in the form of Swiss championship titles, victories at the junior triathlon European Cup races and admissions of athletes to the Swiss Triathlon National Team.