Ironman World Championship 2024: Patrick Lange wins third title in record time

Patrick Lange claimed his third Ironman World Championship with a course record 7:35:53 as he delivered a swim, bike and run masterclass – finishing off with a 2:37:34 marathon to win by more than 6min.

It was a perfect performance from the 38-year-old veteran who overtook longtime leader Sam Laidlow 10 miles into the run, and cruised away to make a mockery of his own pre-race prediction that it would be the closest world championship ever.

Second place went to Denmark’s Magnus Ditlev, who posted a 4:02:52 bike split, one of seven men to go under the previous bike course record, including Laidlow, who stopped the clock at an otherworldly 3:57:22.

Rudy Von Berg improved one spot from his fourth place in Nice last year to round out the podium and France’s Leon Chevalier, who is based in Bath, showed his liking for the iron distance – and particularly the Ironman World Championship – by clinching fourth place with another incredible 4:01:38 bike split.

GB’s Kieran Lindars had a debut to be proud of as he stayed in the mix throughout and held tough on the run to finish in eighth, just pipped by Australian veteran Cam Wurf in the closing stages.

On a ferociously fast day on the Big Island, the performances were once again pushed to new heights with 16 men breaking the 8hr mark.

But it wasn’t the day the Norwegians had hoped for as 2022 champion Gustav Iden not only saw his record lowered by 5min but he dropped out on the marathon, and Kristian Blummenfelt, after vomiting excessively during the bike leg, slipped back through the field on the run to 35th.

The other British pro David McNamee, who placed third in 2017 and 2018, and who’d admitted it was likely to be his last pro race in Hawaii ran his trademark solid marathon (2:47:09) to place 13th.

What happened in the swim?

Much of the pre-race build-up had covered the importance of not losing too much time over the opening 3.8km swim to stay in contention.

Combined with there being no out-and-out favourite to lead into T1 and the ever-increasing strength in depth of Ironman swimmers, it was little surprise to see a huge pack tightly bunched during the first few hundred metres.

After an initial three arrowheads came together it was Netherlands’ Menno Koolhaas who took charge, closely followed by Laidlow, with Lindars perfectly positioned in his wake.

There was little separation until the turnaround on the out-and-back course in Kailua Bay, at which point Laidlow injected some impetus into the race.

The defending champion led until the pack started to splinter and, job done, relinquished the lead back to Koolhaas for the final stages. The Dutch led into transition in 47:02 – more than a minute faster than swim leader Florian Angert’s time in 2022.

Spain’s Antonio Benito Lopez followed the top two out, with Lange, Italy’s Gregory Barnaby and then Lindars next up the steps and on to the pier.

The front group was 22-strong, four more than had come into T1 together when the men last raced in Kona, with Blummenfelt, Von Berg and McNamee also among their number.

There were then seven men in the second group that was only 46sec behind and also contained plenty of pedal power with Ditlev, Robert Kallin and Kristian Hogenhaug.

Further back, the 2022 champion Iden was 3 1/2mins down in 50:34, with the popular Lionel Sanders completing the swim in 47th place in 52:21 and Wurf two places further back in 52:25.

What happened on the bike?

Laidlow made his intent clear from the start of the 180km bike leg, and he had already opened a clear gap by the time the initial loop through town was completed and the race headed for the main highways.

His training partner, Arthur Horseau wasn’t having such a good day however. Having made a decision not to start the race citing mental health challenges earlier in the week, he made a u-turn to line-up, but called it a day early in the bike leg.

Clement Mignon, ninth in Hawaii two years ago and 10th in Nice last year, was another Frenchman to join Horseau out of the race.

Belgium’s Pieter Heemeryck was facing a tough morning for a different reason. The only athlete on the start-line who had raced the Las Vegas T100 last weekend, his audacious double attempt wasn’t working out as he quickly slipped back.

By 25 miles in, Laidlow was 2min ahead, with the next fastest on course, Ditlev, closing the gap on the rest of the quicker swimmers to go clear in second place.

While Laidlow was powering away at the front of the bike, third-place Blummenfelt looked in much more difficulty as he vomited multiple times and was swallowed up by the pursuing pace line.

Through 50 miles, Von Berg, Lange and Lindars were around 4mins from the lead in a 19-strong group, with Blummenfelt trying to recover from his stomach upset and Sweden’s Robert Kallin, known for his cycling prowess, looking ready to press on.

Other than Laidlow and Ditlev, USA’s Trevor Foley was the fastest on course at this point. A weaker swimmer, he’d started the bike ride in 52nd place, but had already picked up 18 places as he moved steadily through the field.

The turnaround at Hawi is often the trigger for athletes to start falling off the pace, and while Laidlow’s 2min gap to Ditlev was holding, slowly the pace line behind started to be whittled down.

Through nearly 90 miles on the bike, Kallin had broken away in third, but Blummenfelt et al were now more than 6min behind Laidlow – a margin that Laidlow said he might need over the Norwegian to hold on for the top of the podium.

Ditlev started to suffer as they came past the airport within 10 miles of transition, slipping to more than 5min behind Laidlow and was then overtaken by Kallin.

Hogenhaug had broken clear in fourth, but Chevalier, who finished sixth, seventh and fifth in his last three Ironman World Championships, had ridden through the field from being 40th in the water to enter T2 in fourth.

Laidlow completed the bike leg in a scarcely fathomable 3:57:22 to destroy his own bike course record of 4:04:35 from two years ago.

Kallin was second off the bike in 4:01:44, with Ditlev (4:02:52), Hogenhaug (4:03:32), Chevalier (4:01:38), Wurf (4:03:59) and Foley (4:03:11), despite a crash late on that would ultimately end his race, all under previous mark as well.

The feared runners, Blummenfelt, Lange and Lopez were all 9min down from Laidlow, with Lindars the best placed GB athlete in 16th and 10min from the lead with the marathon to come.

What happened on the run?

Laidlow had Ali’i Drive to himself as he set off on the first out and back section of the run, but Lange was immediately eating into the lead, taking back around 30-40sec per mile and moving up into second place.

Having led up Palani hill, Laidlow began to walk through the aid stations to make sure he was taking on nutrition, but through 9 miles Lange had already halved the deficit and the pass seemed inevitable.

Chevalier’s fortunes continued to improve as he moved into third place with Koolhaas and Ditlev making up the top five.

The 6hr mark had just ticked past when Lange breezed past a scarcely moving Laidlow who was clearly distressed. Further back, Blummenfelt was also suffering and dropping out of the top 10.

Chevalier was the next of the leaders to struggle and with just over 10 miles to go was overtaken through an aid station in the natural energy lab by Ditlev.

Von Berg soon followed into the podium places and while Lindars had moved through into seventh, it was tight. Matt Hanson, the Ironman Pro Series leader, who has often struggled on the Big Island, moved up from 30th place off the bike to push towards the top 10.

There was no stopping the charge at the front though. Lange took the acclaim as he descended Palani still looking almost effortless and could hardly have been more pumped as he took the tape and his third Ironman world title, matching compatriot Jan Frodeno and Australia’s Craig Alexander, who were also 38 when they won their third titles.

Ironman World Championship 2024. Final standings

1. Patrick Lange 7:35:53
2. Magnus Ditlev 7:43:39
3. Rudy Von Berg :7:46:00
4. Leon Chevalier 7:46:54
5. Menno Koolhaas 7:47:22
6. Gregory Barnaby 7:48:22
7. Cameron Wurf 7:51:26
8. Kieran Lindars 7:51:55
9. Kristian Hogenhaug 7:53:37
10. Matt Hanson 7:54:50
11. Bradley Weiss 7:55:37
12. Mathias Petersen 7:56:50
13. David McNamee 7:57:48
14. Kacper Stepniak 7:58:08
15. Matt Maquardt 7:58:43