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

Knysna Extreme

Knysna, South Africa

OlympusMan Xtreme

Paphos, Cyprus

Patagonman

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Oxman

North Canterbury, New Zealand

Fodaxman

Nova Veneza State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

HercUlean Triathlon

Konark, Puri, India

Challenge Israman

Eilat, Israel

Saharaman

Taghit, Béchar, Algeria

CHALLENGE Sir Bani Yas

Sir Baniyas Island, United Arab Emirates

Kiwiman Xtreme

New Plymouth, New Zealand

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

Ironman African Championship

Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Ironman Taiwan

Penghu, Taiwan, China

Ironman Texas

The Woodlands, Texas, United States

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

Challenge Florianopolis

Florianopolis, Brazil

Clash Daytona

Daytona, FL, United States

70.3 Salalah

Salalah, Oman

70.3 Marbella

Marbella, Spain

70.3 Goa

Goa, India

70.3 Tangier

Tangier, Morocco

70.3 Turkey

Belek, Turkey

70.3 Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina

70.3 Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia

70.3 Riviera Nayarit

Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

70.3 Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay, South Africa

70.3 Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc, Viet Nam

Triathlon News & Media Blogs View all

Jelle Geens Wins T100 Las Vegas

Jelle Geens Wins T100 Las Vegas

Saturday 19 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

Belgian wildcard Jelle Geens claimed his first T100 win at his very first attempt in Lake Las Vegas during a dramatic duel in the desert with compatriot and close friend Marten Van Riel, winning by just 38 seconds. more

Taylor Knibb Wins T100 Las Vegas

Taylor Knibb Wins T100 Las Vegas

Saturday 19 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

American superstar Taylor Knibb won the Lake Las Vegas T100 Triathlon to live up to her pre-race billing as an overwhelming favourite and complete the first-ever hattrick of T100 race wins – following her successes in San Francisco and Ibiza earlier this season – and surge to the top of the T100 standings. more

Records Fall At CHALLENGE Peguera Mallorca

Records Fall At CHALLENGE Peguera Mallorca

Saturday 19 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

It was an action-packed day of racing on the island of Mallorca with a new Challenge Peguera-Mallorca race record set by Alanis Siffert (SUI) and another convincing Challenge Family win for Tom Hug (GER). more

70.3 Portugal Cascais Women Pro Preview

70.3 Portugal Cascais Women Pro Preview

Friday 18 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

Vibrant and vivacious Portuguese coast With its mild climate and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Portugal has long been a prime destination for family holidays. Thanks to a bumper IRONMAN day, including an IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 distance event, athletes can experience the best Cascais has to offer, starting with a swim in the most spectacular bay in Portugal, more

CHALLENGE Peguera Mallorca Line Up

CHALLENGE Peguera Mallorca Line Up

Friday 18 Oct 2024 [Triathlon News]

Challenge Peguera-Mallorca on 19 October features a full field of over 85 professional athletes, promising competitive races in both the men’s and women’s fields. The strong line-up sets the stage for an exciting celebration of the event’s 10th anniversary edition. more

Facebook


YouTube


Sign up for FREE NEWSLETTER:

We will never share your email address or spam you.