Well this was a no-brainer, right? After fellow German took the September athlete of the month award after winning the Ironman World Championship in Nice, it was Patrick Lange’s turn to dominate the voting for October thanks to his record-setting performance in Kona.
Definitely not ready to pass the torch, Patrick Lange shatters course record with huge Kona win
Triathlon Magazine, Global Triathlon Network (GTN), Tri-Mag.de and Triathlete make up the panel of triathlon media who voted on their 1, 2, 3 from a four-athlete shortlist, awarding 3 points for #1, 2 pts for #2 and 1 pt for #3. Votes were also counted from online triathlon fans who had their say via the T100 social handles. Lange received the top vote from each of the five judges to receive 15 points.
Lange beat off competition for the monthly award from:
- Taylor Knibb – who made it 3 wins from 3 in the T100 series with a flawless performance at Lake Las Vegas.
- Jelle Geens – on debut in the T100 and had his breakthrough long distance performance to defeat the previously undefeated Marten Van Riel.
- Julie Derron – who backed up her second in Paris (Olympics) and second in Ibiza with a second in Lake Las Vegas and is now making a name for herself as one of the best middle distance athletes in the world.
The PTO’s release included some background on Lange’s dedication after the race:
The German memorably said in the post race interview after his Kona win: “I always said that my best day was yet to come and nobody believed in me but this was the day, it was the absolutely perfect day. This is for my Mum.”
Explaining why he dedicated the victory to his late mother, he revealed: “When I was running along Ali’i Drive, about 5km into the run, it really struck me. I got goosebumps all over my body, even if I was really hot. And that was the moment where I definitely felt her.”
“She died in 2020 from cancer. And when I was with her in the hospice, when I had my last talk to her, she said, I really wish you to be on that top step. I really want you to kick butts one more time. That was a big ‘why’. And I’m really proud that I did this for her.”
Lange had first talked in depth about the impact of his mother’s illness and passing in the PTO’s Beyond Human episode in April 2023, saying that: “I had found out she had cancer the night before a race in Vietnam. It was a beating. What I was doing meant so much to her. I didn’t want to publicly speak about why I was sucking at races.”
“As soon as you realise that you don’t have a lot of time you can spend with your mother any more, it changes things,” Patrick’s wife Julia had explained in the episode.
“The worst thing ever was to be in Frankfurt [later that year],” continued Lange. “The biggest race with German media. In the clinic when I visited her, I was there when they were during the chemo. So straight from that to the press conference where I had to say ‘I want to win the race’ and it didn’t make any sense to me. And the race result speaks for itself [came 11th].”
After the race, Lange shared with us the mental challenges he had faced over the years. At 38 he is one of the oldest Ironman world champions ever, and his six-year gap between championship titles is also a record.
The post Was there any doubt? Patrick Lange takes PTO October Athlete of the Month appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.