He isn’t quite the oldest Ironman World Championship winner. (That would be Craig Alexander, who was also 38 when he won his third title.) He also wasn’t the oldest pro in the field, but at 38 he was close. (Matt Hanson is 39.) But heading into this year’s Ironman World Championship, there was lots of talk about the new wave of athletes who are taking over the world of Ironman racing. Two years ago it was the Norwegians – Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt – who cruised in to Kona and took first and third on debut. The man who finished in between them, Sam Laidlow, was just 23 when he set a new bike course record and finished second.
Germany’s Patrick Lange appeared to missed the memo, though, as he blasted through an incredible day of racing here at the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii to take his third world championship title. While he used his signature run to take the win, he won the race because of his consistency. Lange had the fourth-fastest swim (47:09), the 14th-fastest bike (4:06:22 – just two minutes slower than the old bike course record) and, of course, the day’s fastest run (2:37:34), just 80-seconds off Iden’s run course record set here two years ago. It all added up to a new course record 7:35:53.
Lange was the first man to break eight hours here in Kona when he went 7:52:39 for his second title here in Kona. Now he becomes the first man to break the 7:40 barrier. Not bad for an old guy, right?
Do you have any vinegar?
The day looked like it might not start off so well for Lange – he and many of the top men got stung by jelly fish as they entered the water, and as he neared the start the German swam over to the photographer’s boat and asked if any of us had any vinegar. (Presumably to help deal with the sting.) Unfortunately it’s not something most photographers carry with them on a shoot, so Lange had to deal with the pain.
It didn’t seem to bother him too much as he easily stayed near the front of the swim race as Menno Koolhaas and Laidlow took turns pulling the pack through the swim. Koolhaas would exit the water first, with 19 men following within 26 seconds. Last year’s third-place finisher and the three-time Challenge Roth champion Magnus Ditlev was in the next group at 1:15 back, while some of the other big names, including Leon Chevalier (FRA), Matt Hanson (USA) and Jackson Laundry were almost four minutes behind. Canadian Lionel Sanders, a two-time runner up at the world championship, was over five minutes back as he started the bike.
Laidlow powers away on the bike
It wasn’t long before the defending champion had blasted clear of the rest of the field, seemingly on a mission to take advantage of the overcast and near-windless conditions to set a new bike course record. Ditlev would eventually use his proficient bike skills to also break clear of the chase group, with Blummenfelt going with him, initially. Ditlev was able to keep the gap under three minutes through the first two-thirds of the 180-km ride to Hawi and back, but by the end of the ride the Dane was almost seven minutes behind and in third behind Sweden’s Robert Kalinn, who was a shade under three-minutes behind the Frenchman. Laidlow’s 3:57:22 shattered his old bike course record, and he started the marathon with the six-minute cushion he figured might be enough to beat the speedy runners chasing from behind.
Sweden’s Kristian Hogenhaug was also in the mix, as was American Matthew Marquardt, Chevalier and Koolhaas. Blummenfelt was now with the group, hitting T2 at eight minutes down, with American Rudy Von Berg and Lange starting the run a shade over nine minutes behind.
All Lange on the run
While Laidlow looked strong at the start of the run, it was obvious that he wasn’t running as fast as Lange, who scorched through the field and was in second place within six km. At 14.5 km the gap was still 4:36, but Laidlow started to overheat and slowed dramatically once he was on the Queen K. Laidlow would slow to a walk and Lange flew by, taking the lead just before the 18 km point of the marathon.
From there it became apparent that Lange was on his way to a third win, which meant the drama would be in watching the race for the final two spots on the podium. Chevalier was in second heading into the famed Energy Lab, but was in fifth as Ditlev, Von Berg and Koolhaas all passed him before the men were heading back to the finish line in Kailua-Kona.
Up ahead Lange was cruising to that elusive third title and the record setting time. Ditlev would run a 2:46:10 marathon to take second in 7:43:39, with Von Berg taking the final spot on the podium with his 7:46:00. (All three moved one spot up the finishing order from Nice last year.) Chevalier (7:46:54) would rally to get past Koolhaas (7:47:22) for fourth.
Stay tuned for more of our coverage from here in Kona – we’re off to the press conference shortly.
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