How to watch the Ironman World Championship men’s race in Kona
The 2024 Ironman World Championship men's race takes place in Kona, Hawaii, on 26 October. Here's how to make sure you don't miss a second of the action…
2023 was the first year that the Ironman World Championship took place on different days, in two different locations.
The first, the men’s elite and age-group races took place on 10 September in Nice, France, where Frenchman Sam Laidlow took the win.
The women’s elite and age-group races then kicked off on 14 October in Kona, Hawaii, where Lucy Charles-Barclay finally took that long-awaited win after four consecutive runner-up finishes.
This year, it’s a flip, so the women went off first in Nice on 22 September and the men are back in Kona on 26 October.
In this year’s women’s race, favourite Laura Philipp of Germany took the win, but only after long periods playing cat and mouse with GB’s Kat Matthews. Find out more about the new champ in our exclusive interview.
So here’s everything you need to know for the second of those two epic races and, most importantly, how to watch the Ironman World Championship…
Who is racing the 2024 men’s Ironman World Championship?
The final start list is yet to be published but we do know who has qualified (see full list below), including four previous Ironman world champions – Patrick Lange, Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and reigning champion Sam Laidlow.
Last year, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden both made it onto the podium, which could make for exciting racing this year as our columnist Tim Heming explores in this article. However they will face tough competition from Sam Laidlow.
The list of qualifiers also includes 12 of the top 20 men in the PTO world ranking list and 31 of the top 50.
We also know that most of the major long-course players have qualified, but there are a few notable names missing, like Sam Long, Kyle Smith, Youri Keulen, and Rico Bogen.
2024 Pro Men Ironman World Championship Qualifiers
Magnus Ditlev DEN
Sam Laidlow FRA
Pieter Heemeryck BEL
Rudy von Berg USA
Daniel Baekkegard DEN
Lionel Sanders CAN
Trevor Foley USA
Gregory Barnaby ITA
David McNamee GBR
Leon Chevalier FRA
Clement Mignon FRA
Menno Koolhaas NED
Patrick Lange GER
Matthew Marquardt USA
Kacper Stepniak POL
Jackson Laundry CAN
Arthur Horseau FRA
Bradley Weiss ZAF
Kristian Hogenhaug DEN
Matt Hanson USA
Cameron Wurf AUS
Antonio Benito Lopez ESP
Sam Appleton AUS
Arnaud Guilloux FRA
Mike Phillips NZL
Ben Kanute USA
Braden Currie NZL
Niek Heldoorn NED
Mathias Petersen DEN
Matt Burton AUS
Ben Hamilton NZL
Chris Leiferman USA
Robert Wilkowiecki POL
Thor Bendix Madsen DEN
Nick Thompson AUS
Paul Schuster GER
Michael Weiss AUT
Stenn Goetstouwers BEL
Jordi Montraveta Moya ESP
Denis Chevrot FRA
Andre Lopes BRA
Kristian Blummenfelt NOR
Reinaldo Colucci BRA
Gustav Iden NOR
Jason Phol CAN
Dylan Magnien FRA
Steven McKenna AUS
Leonard Arnold DEU
Rasmus Svenningsson SWE
Robert Kallin SWE
Tomasz Szala POL
Kenneth Vandendriessche BEL
Igor Amorelli BRA
Tristan Olij NED
Finn Grosse-Freese GER
Jonas Hoffmann GER
Kieran Lindars GBR
The 2024 Ironman World Championship course, Kona
The 3.8km swim course
The unforgettable 3.8km swim takes places in the crystal-clear waters off Kailua Bay. Athletes start in the water and swim out-and-back in a clockwise direction facing small swells but otherwise mild and warm swim conditions.
The 180km bike course
The 180.2km bike route travels from Kailua-Kona to the Hawi turnaround and back along the iconic Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway.
Watch out for the challenging elevation gain on the climb to Hawi, but take comfort in the captivating views of lava fields, coastlines, and ocean. Also be prepared for the exposed terrain and strong crosswinds.
The 42.2km run course
The 42.2km run starts with an out-and-back ‘jaunt’ past the spirited crowds on Alii Drive before taking athletes up Palani Road to the Queen Kaahumanu Highway, leading to the HOST Park at the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawai`i Authority (NELHA).
It’s a rolling course with intermittent steep stretches, followed by a triumphant return along the highway. The grand finale includes a victorious lap through Kona town, culminating in the exhilaration of crossing the finish line.
When does the men’s Ironman World Championship start?
All times are local (HST), which is 11hrs behind the UK.
Saturday 26 October
6:25am – Pro Men start (UK race start time is 5:25pm )
6:27am – Physically Challenged/Intellectual Disability & Handcycle Men race start
6:40am – Age-Group Men start
How to watch the 2024 men’s Ironman World Championship
Global audiences can watch live, for free, via the Ironman website and you can also follow the athletes along on the excellent Athlete Tracker App.
Liz Barrett
220 Deputy Editor 
