At the 22-mile mark in the marathon, churning uphill in 93-degree heat, 26-year-old Gustav Iden caught 23-year-old Sam Laidlow. Gustav was expected to be a front-runner in the 2022 Ironman World Championship in Kona. Laidlow was not.
The two Kona rookies, drenched in sweat on Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, shook hands briefly while still in stride — and then Iden was gone.
The Norwegian continued his blazing run pace all the way to Ali’i Drive, soaking in the cheering fans as he crossed the finish line of the grueling 140.6-mile triathlon in 7 hours, 40 minutes and 24 seconds on Saturday. He smashed three-time Ironman champion Jan Frodenoʻs old course record by nearly 11 minutes and won the $125,000 first-place prize money.
“That was so freaking hard,” Iden said to a roaring crowd. “The last 10K was really about the legend of the Ironman killing me. Everything was going pretty smoothly until I passed Sam Laidlow … And then when I passed him, oh my God, the island really, really tried to put me down. But I think my ass must be stronger than the legend of Ironman.”
That legend is the scorching hot and humid conditions, brutal winds and ill-placed uphills on the tail end of the 26.2-mile run, where athletes have been known to bonk.
But Iden persevered, tasting victory and finishing his last four miles with a 5:54 per mile average, helping him set a Kona running course record of 2:36:15. That record had been held by 2:39:45, set by German Patrick Lange in 2016.
On any other day, the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers would have thought their times would have been good enough to win. Runner-up Laidlow (7:42:24), third-place Kristian Blummenfelt (7:43:23) and fourth-place Max Neumann (7:44:44) all finished with times that also beat the previous course record.
All four also were competing at Kona for the first time.
Iden said before the race he thought he had a good plan for the course. After the race, he said he executed that plan well. He stayed close to the lead and then gut it out over the last 10K (6.3 miles).
He was in the pack of 19 triathletes who were first out of the water in Kailua Bay, swimming the 2.4-mile course in 48:23.
Iden finished the 112-mile bike course in 4:11:06 to stay within striking distance of Laidlow, who was second out of the water and took the race lead early in the bike. The Frenchman was not on most expertʻs list of race contenders, but went out blazingly fast and averaged 27.59 mph per mile to smash the previous Kona bike course record by five minutes. Cam Wurf had held the previous record of 4:09:06, set in 2018.
Laidlow began the run with a solid 6 minute plus lead on second-place Blumenthal, who was the race favorite after winning the Ironman World Championship in May in St. George, Utah. (It was the rescheduled race of the 2021 Ironman in Kona that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Iden quickly caught up with Blummenfelt, his training partner in their common hometown of Bergen, Norway. The pair ran together for several miles before Blummenfelt began to show signs that the heat was getting to him. Iden left his friend behind with his focus on catching Laidlow.
While Iden made it look easy in the brutal heat, he said afterwards: “I’m not sure if I’m coming back ever. This was too hard.”
It was only the second full Ironman for Iden, who had to withdraw just 24 hours before the start of the Ironman World Championship in St. George due to a respiratory infection. He won is Ironman debut in Florida in 7:48:05.
Iden also is a two-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, winning in 2019 and 2021. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo he placed 8th in the men’s triathlon, which was won by Blummenfelt.
After crossing the finish line, the traditional haku crown was put on his head and a maile lei around Iden’s neck. He celebrated while waiting for the rest of the field to finish.
Laidlow arrived two minutes later. He put his hand on his heart and shed tears. He was oh so close to pulling off the victory and proud of his runner-up finish.
“I was loving it,” said Laidlow, the youngest of the 51 pros in the men’s field. “I’ve been doing this since I was 4 or 5 [years old]. To be leading the race until what 30, 35k, is something special.”
Laidlow competed in his first Ironman World Championship five months ago in St. George, Utah. To be giving his best effort against athletes he looked up to his whole life was all he said he could ask for.
“This was my style of racing,” Laidlow said. “We’re just getting started.”
Blummenfelt, nicknamed “Big Blu,” held on for third place. He carried the Norwegian flag over the finish line and congratulated Iden and Laidlow before collapsing from exhaustion. He was taken on a stretcher to the medical tent, but was able to take part at the podium ceremony for the first three finishers.
The Ironman World Championship usually belongs to the experienced participants, but this time it was the youngsters who stole the show. Seven of the top 10 were under 30.
But the veterans hung in there. Former Ironman World Champion Sebastien Kienle of Germany finished sixth, two-time Ironman World Champion Patrick Lange of Germany finished 10th and heart-attack survivor Tim O’Donnell came in a strong 13th. Just 1 1/2 years ago, O’Donnell’s cardiologist told him after surgery that he would need to find a new profession.
The Ironman World Championship returned after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID 19-pandemic. It also returned with a new two-race format. On Thursday, American Chelsea Sodaro surprisingly won the professional women’s race.
