At the Ironman World Championship’s pre-race press conference in Kona, American Rudy von Berg made quite the entrance wearing a furry bison hat with horns.
The headwear has provided fun with his friends and is an homage to his University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes. But von Berg added with a smile: “They’re the only animal that heads into the storm when the storm is coming.”
On Saturday in Kona, whoever crosses the finish line on Ali’i Drive first will have conquered the grueling course’s heat, humidity, hills and crosswinds ‑— and weathered one of the strongest men’s fields in the history of the championship, which began in 1978.
Leading the field of 56 pro athletes is defending champion Sam Laidlow of France. But the chasing pack includes the two strong Norwegians Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, who each have won in Kona, two-time World Champion Patrick Lange of Germany, up-and-coming Americans Matt Marquardt and Trevor Foley, Denmark’s hungry-for-a-Kona victory Magnus Ditlev, strong cyclist Robert Kallin of Sweden, and Von Berg, who ended 2023 with a record crushing 7:34:41 in the Florida Ironman.
Saturday marks the return to Kona for the men’s championship race, which last year was held in Nice, France. In 2023, the men and women began alternating their championship sites because the duo event was outgrowing the capacity of the small community of Kona.
The women competed in Kona last year, with super swimmer Lucy Charles-Barclay leading almost the minute she entered Kailua Bay enroute to her first World Championship victory after finishing second four times.
Lange, who won in Kona in 2017 and 2018, said he is happy to be back on the Big Island, despite “missing the women big time.”
“The beauty of the race is still there,” he said. “It’s still the greatest race of them all. It’s still the magic and the love for the island.”
In addition to the pros, about 2,400 amateur male athletes ranging in age from 20 to 84 also will be competing on the 140.6-mile grueling course that begins with a 2.4-mile swim in Kailua Bay. Next is a 112-mile bike on the route renowned for its historic long sustained climbs, strong crosswinds and exposed terrain beauty with lava fields on one side and the ocean coastline on the other.
The final leg is a 26.2-mile run, the length of a marathon, on a route that takes athletes past the spirited crowds on Aliʻi Drive, up Palani Road to the Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway that leads them to the long-awaited HOST Park at the National Energy Laboratory Hawaiʻi Authority. There they turn around and head back to town, where roaring crowds greet them.
And for the first time this year, there is a race within the race, with many of the men’s elite athletes also competing in Ironman’s inaugural Pro Series, which features a $375,000 professional prize purse. The winner takes home $125,000.
American Matt Hanson leads the Pro Series standings due to his fast, consistent racing this season despite having to balance training with his new fatherhood duties to a now 7-month girl, Olivia. But Hanson is not among the favorites to win the World Championship, with his best finish in six races just 13th (in 2022).
“None of the guys behind me are going to just kind of give up and say: ‘It’s all yours.’” Hanson said. “So I’ve got to do my job this weekend to have a chance to stay near the points lead.”
Laidlow, 25, will wear the No. 1 bib due to his impressive World Championship victory in his home country of France in a time of 8 hours, 6 minutes and 22 seconds. This victory was despite having battled COVID 2 ½ weeks earlier.
Laidlow entered the second transition with a six-minute lead, and this time, unlike in Kona, he was able to hold on during the run to beat Lange by nearly four minutes. Ditlev took third.
In 2022, Laidlow was leading the championship in Kona late into the race, but with about 4 miles to go, Iden caught Laidlow. The two Kona rookies, drenched in sweat on Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, shook hands briefly while still in stride — and then Iden was gone.
Iden smashed three-time Ironman champion Jan Frodeno’s course record by nearly 11 minutes, finishing in 7 hours, 40 minutes and 24 seconds. Iden also broke Lange’s Kona running course record.
But Iden had a difficult 2023 that included poor performances, the passing of his mother from cancer, and a painful Achilles injury. And this year, he said he has not put in the type of training required to win the World Championship.
“If I won this year, it would just mean that I’m a talent,” he said, smiling.
But his fellow Norwegian, 30-year-old Blummenfelt, could very well find himself on the top rung of the podium again after winning his first Ironman World Championship in 2021. Blummenfelt had been concentrating on short-course triathlons last year and part of this year, but he won the Ironman Frankfurt just two weeks after competing in the Olympics. And this victory is despite having problems with his nutrition that led to a mid-race bathroom break and tossing his cookies during the run.
Blummenfelt said he thinks all triathletes “want to win this race. It’s where the sport was born.”
And maybe this year his secret weapon is his bushy beard: “It’s good for the humidity,” he said. “It’s keeping a little bit of moisture to your skin.”
Ditlev also is among the favorites. He finished third at the World Championship last year in Nice, and he wants to make up for his 2022 race in Kona, in which a drafting penalty led to a disappointing 8th place finish.
“I’ve been having nightmares about that race,” Ditlev said. But, he also said he was not happy about Nice, “when Sam completely smoked everyone. I think that hurt even more. … I was just not good enough to fight for the win.”
Marquardt likely will be one of the first out of the water. The 26-year-old who is juggling training with medical school led the swim in Nice last year. He also can hold his own on the bike. But his best marathon time during a triathlon is only 2:43, which needs to be better for him to finish at the top in Kona.
Some racers think that Kallin might go for the Kona bike course record, which could lead to some of the pros going a little faster than they like on the bike and take away some energy for the run.
But everyone seemed to agree the race would be fast.
“Everyone is improving a lot,” Iden said. “… It’s not so long ago where 8 hours on the island was something insane. But now, it’s basically a top 10 performance.
“I think there will be some groundbreaking performances this year, although it will depend on conditions, of course.”
Race conditions in Kona can be brutal, with a high of 86 degrees expected on Saturday with a 24% of raindrops. The bike and run often are affected by strong crosswinds.
Iden said this past week the wind was so strong near Hawi, the bike turnaround point, that he was “scared.”
When the athletes were asked how many pros they though would finish under 8 hours this year, Hanson replied: “Fifteen.”
When asked if he was confident about that number, Hanson elaborated that the 15th finisher gets the last paycheck, “So 15.”
To watch the press conference, click here.
For all you need to know about the race, click here.
Live race day coverage will be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN and YouTube, as well as Outside TV in the United States and Canada, L’Équipe in France and ZDF in Germany.
