Two New World Best Times in Roth Anne Haug, Magnus Ditlev Write Triathlon History

Sunday 07 July 2024
It was a day of records at DATEV Challenge Roth: Denmark's Magnus Ditlev took his third title in a row in the triathlon Mecca in a new world best time of 7:23:24. Anne Haug (GER) beat Daniela Ryf's world best time, set just a year ago in Roth, by almost six minutes. The 41-year-old Hawaii winner from 2019 only signed up for the long-distance triathlon last Monday and dominated the field from the start.
 
Magnus Ditlev, dubbed the new "King of Roth" at the finish line, is following in the footsteps of triathlon legends Lothar Leder and Chris McCormack with the triple. Only these two have managed the feat of winning the race in Roth four times in a row: Lothar Leder from Darmstadt, who has won Roth five times in total, won in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, while Australian Chris McCormack recorded his four victories from 2004 to 2007. "It's a great honour for me to have caught up here," said Ditlev, who finished with a respectable lead of over 14 minutes ahead of Britain's Thomas Bishop (7:37:54), who set a new British record, and American Rudy von Berg (7:38:30).
 
"Everything went really well for me today," said Ditlev at the finish. "Of course I know the course a bit by now. That was certainly an advantage. But the spectators were once again phenomenal and spurred me on to this great performance." He realised that things could go so well today when he emerged from the Main-Danube Canal only slightly behind the best swimmer. "I was then able to take the lead relatively quickly and run my own race."
 
The race ended on a bitter note for Patrick Lange: the 37-year-old two-time Hawaii winner from 2017 and 2018 cried out in pain in the first transition zone after the 3.8-kilometre swim and grabbed his ribs. "I got hit in the rib cage right at the start of the swim," he said later, when he entered the stadium in the finish area to thunderous applause despite having dropped out on the bike course. Lange had initially got on his bike and tried to carry on, as he had announced at the press conference before the race that he wanted to break the 2:30 hour barrier for the marathon. But after less than 20 kilometres on the bike circuit, the 2021 Roth winner dropped out. Last year's runner-up later explained: "I'm fine under the circumstances. The rib isn't broken, it's 'just' badly bruised. Luck wasn't on my side today. But I'll be back!"
 
The best German athlete was Jan Stratmann from Bonn, who finished in fourth place. "I fought to the end and never gave up," said the 28-year-old after his second long-distance triathlon. "A tape flew into my bike at kilometre 140. It went very well until then." Jan Stratmann actually wanted to join Magnus Ditlev on the bike. "But Magnus didn't want to. So I did my own thing." The run was pure psychological terror. "I learnt today that I need to be a bit more defensive in the future."
 
German double victory for the women in Roth - Anne Haug pulverises world best time
 In the women's field, Anne Haug pulverised the world best time set just a year ago by Switzerland's Daniela Ryf in 8:02:38 hours. It is also Haug's third triumph in Roth after 2021 and 2022. Just a week and a half ago, Haug had toyed with the idea of re-registering for a start in Roth. Due to a viral infection, she had to cancel her races at the start of the season and was unable to train for two months. "It's crazy: and then everything just fell into place today," said the 41-year-old, who finished ahead of Laura Philipp from Heidelberg (8:14:13), Els Visser from the Netherlands (8:24:47) and Anne Reischmann (GER) (8:26:07). Visser set a new Dutch record with her performance.
 
At the finish, the two-time Roth winner was beaming with happiness: "I only found out at the end that it could be enough for the world best time. That was a good thing. Otherwise the head cinema starts." Anne Haug had been dreaming of the world best time for some time. "It's something that has made my career perfect. It's good that it's worked out now. Otherwise, at the age of 41, the time would have been a bit tight." Otherwise, the 2012 Olympic participant in London was only missing one Olympic medal. "But I was able to compensate for that quite well with my time in Roth today," she joked at the finish.
 
Laura Philipp, who came third last year, was pleased to have improved by one place: "But it wasn't an easy day." She did her thing on the bike, as Anne Haug seemed uncatchable. "I tried to maximise my performance today. I managed that very well," summarised the 37-year-old.
CHALLENGE Family (Photo: Christoph Raithel)


Coming Triathlon Events View all

Canada Man Xtreme

Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada

Infinitri 226

Peñíscola, Spain

Greek Hero Xtreme

Corfu, Greece

Winterman Xtreme

Decin, Czech Republic

Triman 226

Olympic Beach, Greece

Ironcat

I`Ampolla, Spain

ICAN Gandia

Gandia, Spain

Knysna Extreme

Knysna, South Africa

OlympusMan Xtreme

Paphos, Cyprus

Patagonman

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Ironman Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain

Ironman Malaysia

Langkawi, Malaysia

Ironman Portugal Cascais

Cascais, Portugal

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS MEN

Kailua Kona, Hawaii, United States

Ironman California

Sacramento CA, United States

Ironman Florida

Panama City Beach, Florida, United States

Ironman Arizona

Tempe, Arizona, United States

Ironman Cozumel

Cozumel, Mexico

Ironman Western Australia

Busselton, Australia

Ironman New Zealand

Taupo, New Zealand

Alpha Win Palm Springs

Palm Springs, CA, United States

Challenge Paguera Mallorca

Paguera-Mallorca, Spain

Ocean Lava Lanzarote

Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Edisto Island Tri

Edisto Island, SC, United States

Ibiza Half

Ibiza, Spain

Oil Man Texas Triathlon

Montgomery, TX, United States

Challenge Xiamen

Xiamen, China

Hervey Bay 100

Hervey Bay QLD, Australia

MiamiMan

Miami FL, United States

Challenge Canberra

Canberra, Australia

70.3 Waco

Waco, TX, United States

70.3 Kenting Taiwan

Kenting, Taiwan, Province of China

70.3 Malaysia

Langkawi, Malaysia

70.3 North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina, United States

70.3 Portugal

Cascais, Portugal

70.3 Porec

Istria, Croatia

70.3 Vouliagmeni

Vouliagmeni, Greece

70.3 Salalah

Salalah, Oman

70.3 Marbella

Marbella, Spain

70.3 Goa

Goa, India

Triathlon News & Media Blogs View all

Hutchens & Davies Win CHALLENGE Vieux Boucau, France

Hutchens & Davies Win CHALLENGE Vieux Boucau, France

Saturday 05 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

It was a fast day of racing at Challenge Vieux Boucau with a 1.9km swim in the marine lake, a 90km ride through the Landes pine forests, and a decisive run to finish, which gave Jack Hutchens (GBR) and Daisy Davies (GBR) a chance to claim victories in 3:37:50 and 4:05:49, respectively. more

IRONMAN Barcelona ESP Pro Preview

IRONMAN Barcelona ESP Pro Preview

Friday 04 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

The village of Calella of the Barcelona-Maresme region, on Spain’s eastern coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, hosts the most popular end of season race in Europe.  A sea swim in the bay, a fast bike course and a flat run, this race has clocked sub-8 hour times making it a sure-fire personal best course. more

CHALLENGE Vieux Boucau, France Elite Line-Up

CHALLENGE Vieux Boucau, France Elite Line-Up

Friday 04 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

The second edition of Challenge Vieux Boucau will take place this Saturday, featuring a 65-strong field of professional athletes. With competitive lines-ups in both the men’s and women’s races, the middle-distance event is expected to be a key highlight of the season. more

Taylor Knibb Wins T100 Ibiza

Taylor Knibb Wins T100 Ibiza

Saturday 28 Sep 2024 [Triathlon News]

Taylor Knibb became Ibiza T100 Triathlon Champion, taking her second T100 victory from two race starts to underline her once-in-a-generation talent among an incredibly strong women’s pro field. more

Marten van Riel Wins T100 Ibiza

Marten van Riel Wins T100 Ibiza

Saturday 28 Sep 2024 [Triathlon News]

Martin Van Riel proved he truly is the real deal in becoming the Ibiza T100 Triathlon Champion and putting himself in pole position to become the inaugural T100 Champion with just two races to go. more

Facebook


YouTube


Sign up for FREE NEWSLETTER:

We will never share your email address or spam you.